Dirty Love
by enchanted-nova
Summary: Levy McGarden is working on her doctorate and is currently working under Dr. Makarov Dreyar at St. Vermillion's Medical Facility in Magnolia, Fiore. Feeling that Levy was ready for her first official patient, Dr. Makarov allows her to take on a rather secretive patient: Gajeel Redfox. Full Summary Inside. Pairing Inside. AU.
1. I'm an Intern

**Author's Note:** So I was not happy with my previous GaLe fan fiction, so I decided to take another route. I really hope you all enjoy this story, it's not going to be very long I don't imagine more than fifteen chapters in length. Be sure to leave a review, I'd love to hear from you guys!

**Summary: **Levy McGarden is working on her doctorate and is currently working under Dr. Makarov Dreyar at St. Vermillion's Medical Facility in Magnolia, Fiore. Feeling that Levy was ready for her first official patient, Dr. Makarov allows her to take on a rather secretive patient: Gajeel Redfox. Unlike most patients, Gajeel is snarky and rude. He constantly gives Levy a hard time making her doubt if she is cut out for the job as a physical therapist. He isn't very open about what caused his injury, nor is there anything in his medical records, but as Levy digs deeper she finds that Gajeel Redfox is a legend in the notorious world of Underground Boxing.

**Pairings: **GajeelxLevy, NatsuxLucy, GrayxJuvia, and minor mention of ErzaxJellal

**Warnings: **Cursing. Sexual Themes. Alcohol Abuse. Violence. AU.

* * *

><p><span><strong>I'm an Intern<strong>

"I know, I'm so excited about this," Levy McGarden, a lovely young woman with ocean blue hair and chocolate eyes, chirped into her cellphone as she climbed out of her car. She pushed the door shut with her small hips and started walking towards the stairs of the parking garage. When she got to the door of the stairs, she turned on her heels and used her back to push the door open. Her hands were full with a couple of books, her lunch, her purse, and gym bag. Levy desperately tried not to trip as she jogged down the flight of stairs until she reached the first floor.

"You have to tell me all about it when you get home," Lucy Heartfilia, Levy's blonde roommate, demanded with a laugh. "Your first patient, good luck!"

"Thanks girl, I gotta go." Levy turned on her heels and pressed her back against the door. She stepped out onto the first floor of the parking garage and followed the sidewalk that was lined with colorful hyacinths. "I'll see you tonight." After her friend wished her luck once more, Levy smiled and hung up her phone. Just before she reached the glass door of the medical facility, Levy shoved her phone into her jacket pocket.

The glass door slid open, revealing a pristine tiled floor with large stone pots that contained large leafed trees. In the middle of the large lobby area was a receptionist desk with two women stationed behind it. One was a brunette and the other was a strawberry blonde, both dressed in medical scrubs and friendly faces. Levy greeted them both as she passed them and made her way to the elevators behind them. She pressed the up button and waited for one of the four elevators to open up.

A ding sounded and Levy saw the door on the far right open up. When she stepped into the elevator, she rolled her eyes at the horrible music that was playing. In a way, Levy would have preferred it to be silent, apparently it was a way to keep the awkward silences away and relax the patients at the facility. The petite young woman was pretty sure it drove most patients crazy as if it was a song for their funeral. Levy pushed the number five on the number key pad and let out a breath as the elevator carried her up.

"Ah, Miss McGarden," Dr. Makarov greeted as Levy stepped out of the elevator. She stopped and turned to the old, strikingly short man. "Your first official patient has arrived, are you nervous?" he asked her, placing his hands behind his back.

"A little bit, but I'm more excited about this," Levy admitted with a bright smile. She was glowing with excitement, anyone could see that. "Let me just drop this in my locker, and I'll get started with him." The old man nodded and watched as his newest intern walked down the hallway. He was glad he picked her out of the thirty applicants that applied to train at his office, he only chose one: Levy McGarden. There was something about her, she was cheerful and honest, something that Makarov respected. She exuded kindness, hope, and had a genuine smile that he was sure would connect her with her future patients.

Moments later, Levy was walking back to him. "Which room is he in?" she asked as she scooped up her wavy blue hair, tying it up into a messy, but cute ponytail.

The old man with the white mustache waved for her to follow. They entered his office where he reached for a file that was rather sizable. He handed it off to Levy, and she opened it up taking a quick peak. Makarov had told her about her first patient and explained his situation, but she hadn't had the chance to look at the actual written statements. The patient's name was Gajeel Redfox, and he was twenty-five years old.

"Listen closely, Miss McGarden," Makarov began, and Levy looked away from the file. "Mr. Redfox is unlike most patients we take on, he's very troubled. He's been through a lot, so take it one step at a time."

Levy closed the file and tucked it under her lean muscled arm. "Don't worry, I'll take care of him, Dr. Makarov." She nodded to him, and Makarov chuckled knowing that Levy would be able to handle it. A few of the nurses had tried to persuade him to give her someone a little less difficult, but Makarov believed Levy to be the perfect person to handle Gajeel Redfox.

"I'm sure you will," Makarov replied as they walked out of his office and into the small lobby that was decorated with oceanic scenes. There were two couches as well that were a deep blue with white throw pillows stitched with silver anchors resting in the corners. "He's in training room two." He led her to the door of the training room and gestured to it.

Levy took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. She rolled her shoulders and cracked her neck before knocking on the door. There was a mumbled replied to come in, so she looked at Makarov, who nodded to her. Levy bit her lip and pushed the metal lever handle down. She slipped through the door and quietly closed it.

"Hello," Levy greeted kindly with a small wave as she looked at the burly man with long dark hair sitting on the wooden bench that faced towards the training room. On the fifth floor, there were eight training rooms, each one having specific equipment. This room in particular was for helping patients walk again. There was a treadmill, a pool, a massage table, and two long wooden rails that stretched across the length of the room.

Natural light spilled into the room from the large windows that overlooked the medical facility's courtyard. The room was rather large and spacious, so Levy was certain she'd be able to help Gajeel strengthen his injured leg. When her brown eyes finally looked at Gajeel and took him in for what he was, she was taken aback. She didn't show her shock, but she did freeze when she saw his scarred up arm, pierced face, and wild mane of dark hair.

Gajeel turned to look at Levy, his demonic red eyes scanned her up and down. He was analyzing her, and he seemed a bit off put by her presence. "You're Dr. McGarden?" he inquired skeptically, his studded brows knitting together. She understood his skepticism, she was petite and an even five foot with a below average breast size and mediocre curves.

"Uh, yes," Levy said with a nervous smile. "But, please call me Levy." She put the file that was tucked under her arm onto the small computer station that was next to the door.

"Seriously?" he pressed, his deep, husky voice making her even more nervous. The way he was hunched over on the bench with his arms rested on his knees, Levy could tell he had to be at least six foot in height. His muscles were well defined, creating smooth lines and plains all over his body. He wore a ribbed black tank top and silver colored basketball shorts. "You're a doctor?"

Levy blinked a few times and clapped her hands together as she approached him. "Well, no not yet. I'm an intern." She smiled at him, and Gajeel tilted his head not seeming very pleased to hear that. "This medical facility is also for training. I'm currently working on my doctorate."

"Doctorate? How old are you?" he asked rather abrasively, which made Levy laugh nervously.

"I'm uh, twenty-four," she answered with a weak smile, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

Gajeel blinked. "Twenty-four?" he repeated, and Levy pressed her lips together nodding her head slowly. "You look like you're fifteen or sixteen, no offense. But seriously you're really fucking tiny. I mean, aren't physical therapist supposed to be strong? You're a pipsqueak, a shrimp, a small fry, a-"

"I get it, I'm short and puny," Levy interjected and cleared her throat. "But, I promise I will help you regain the strength in your left leg." She gestured to his leg that was in a boot with his crutches leaning up against the bench.

Gajeel looked down at his boot covered leg and sighed heavily. He rubbed the back of his neck and shrugged his shoulders. "Just one last question before we start."

"Sure," Levy agreed with a nod, prompting him to ask his question.

"How many patients have you helped?" Gajeel inquired, looking up at her from the bench.

Levy stifled a laugh and started spinning her hands around each other. "My medical history with my patients is something that, we uh...shouldn't discuss."

"Oh fuck," Gajeel mumbled and laughed. "I'm your first patient, aren't I?"

"What? No! Oh no," Levy lied like it was no one's business, shaking her head quickly. She felt a little guilty lying, but she didn't want to make him uncomfortable by thinking she had never helped a patient before. In her defense, she had helped Makarov with four of his patients, so in a way, Gajeel was technically her fifth. "I've had my fair share of patients." She placed her hand on her chest and laughed lightly, but Gajeel didn't seem to believe her at all.

"Can I tell you something, Dr. McGarden?" Gajeel asked as he slowly stood up and wobbled a little but steadied himself.

"Yes, of course," Levy said, looking up at him. She had been right, Gajeel Redfox, was ridiculously tall, or perhaps it was the fact that she was below average in height. Her eyes were level with his chest, her head barely making it to his shoulders. As she slowly looked up, she swallowed hard seeing him staring down at her.

Gajeel took in a sharp breath and slowly let it out through his mouth. "Lying to me, is not a good start for our doctor-patient relationship." He forced a smile and grabbed his crutches. "So I suggest you start telling me the truth, and do your job."

Levy stared up at Gajeel, shocked and unnerved by his intimidating demeanor, but she swallowed it all and nodded in understanding. "Yeah...uh, you're right," Levy began and rubbed the back of her neck. "It's just that my patient history is not something we can discuss."

"I get that, but you don't have one," Gajeel said pointedly, making Levy clear her throat and play with the sleeve hems of her jacket. She couldn't even look him in the eye, which only reassured him that he was right.

"You don't know that," Levy muttered.

Gajeel snickered. "I do know that," he reprimanded with a shake of his head.

Levy stifled a laugh and broke eye contact from Gajeel. "How do you know?"

"You broke eye contact, which means you're either lying or under a lot of stress," he explained, which caused Levy to play with the sleeve of her jacket even more. "So is all this fiddling with your clothes?" He pointed at her fingers messing with the hems of her sleeves. Levy looked up at him and cleared her throat for the umpteenth time.

"Okay," Levy squeaked. "Why don't we just get started?" she walked over to the matted corner of the room and turned around to look at him.

Gajeel used his crutches and made his way over to the mat. Levy walked over to him and held her hand out. He stared at her hands for a moment, but nodded as he handed her the crutches and carefully limped into the middle of the mat. As Levy rested the crutches against the wall, she turned back to look at Gajeel.

"So what first?" he asked, waiting for instruction.

"I thought we'd start out with some stretches to warm you up and maybe some massages that could help ease any pain or discomfort," Levy explained as she walked over to him. "Why don't you uh...lay down?" She gestured for him to lay down on the mat.

Gajeel laid down and looked to Levy, who knelt down to be closer to him. "You sure you know what you're doing?" he inquired, looking up to the boring white ceiling, watching the blades of the fan slowly spin round and round.

Levy stared at him for a moment before sighing. "Yes, I'm sure," she replied sternly. "You're lack of faith in me, as your doctor, is a little insulting." She crossed her arms over her chest and scrunched up her nose.

Gajeel chortled. "You said yourself you aren't even a doctor yet, so I believe my lack of faith in you is well deserved." He turned to look at Levy, who scoffed and shook her head in annoyance.

"Look, my job is to help you," Levy said, finding her confidence. She had worked hard to get this far, she wasn't about to let some bitter patient get the best of her. He may have been twice her size, maybe even triple, but she knew her stuff. All those countless nights studying every bone and muscle in the human body, the gallons of coffee she must have consumed, the hundreds of flash cards, the dog-eared pages in her books, those all meant something. She'd be damned if her first official patient made her doubt everything she knew. "I understand, I'm young and not a doctor yet, but I am a doctor in training, I've studied my ass off! And I'm not gonna let you get under my skin, so you have to trust me. And if you can't do that, at least humor me, please."

Gajeel looked at Levy and chuckled lightly. He had to give her credit, she did have a little spunk and sassiness in her. The muscled man pursed his lips and clicked his tongue. "Alright, I'll give you four sessions to change my mind about you." He looked away from her and laid perfectly still.

"Great," Levy breathed and sat with her legs crossed on the ground. "First you need to clear your mind, and take deep breaths to just relax yourself and release all the tension in your body both physically and mentally." She started to demonstrate, and Gajeel eyed her curiously before shrugging his shoulders and going along with it.

"Is this like a Lamaze class?" Gajeel asked.

Levy huffed. "Okay, you've just hit your joking and teasing quota."

"You said humor you," Gajeel chided with an eye roll. Levy slapped a hand to her forehead and began to wonder if Dr. Makarov gave her the right patient. She knew it wouldn't be easy, some patients had special needs. Gajeel was obviously one of them, he probably expected some buff man with loads of experience, or some thirty-something sexy blonde that wore jog bras and yoga shorts. Levy was neither of those things, she was a petite, blue-haired, book worm, with a shy albeit cheerful nature.

"I did, but not in the literal sense," Levy corrected with an eye roll. "How about we just talk for a few minutes and get to know each other, maybe then you'd be more willing to trust me."

"Well," Gajeel began as he sat up, "you lied, I mean first impressions are everything."

Levy let her head fall between her slender shoulders and exhaled heavily. "I already told you, I can't discuss my patient history with you. That would be inappropriate."

"There's really no history to discuss since I am your first patient," Gajeel commented with a shrug, causing Levy to stiffen. This guy was really good, he was getting under her skin, making her lose her cool. Normally Levy was such a sweet girl, but at the current moment she just wanted to grab the crutch leaning against the wall and smack him with it.

"Does it really bother you that much?" Levy asked, finally getting serious. She wasn't going to try and prove to him she was a good person. In order for her to do her job and do it right, he had to trust her, he had to work with her. "Cause I can have Dr. Makarov assign someone else to you. Granted that would make me look bad, but if you aren't comfortable with me being your physical therapist...assigning you a different PT is the best I can do." She shrugged her small shoulders and stared at Gajeel intently, wondering what he was going to say or do. His eyes and facial expression softened a bit and he rubbed the back of his neck, seeming to be slightly guilty of grilling her so hard.

"Alright Shrimp," Gajeel sighed. "I'll stop, for real this time."

Levy didn't believe him at first, but he smiled at her weakly and nodded his head. "You're sure?" she asked him. "Cause my job is to help you, so I want to do whatever makes you comfortable." She bit her lip, hoping to get some serenity out of him. It was obvious he was troubled, and he liked giving people a hard time. Levy knew from his past history that he'd been through a lot, so she wanted to be understanding. She still believed that there was a line to be drawn, eventually you had to forget what happened in the past and move on to the future. From what she learned in her psychology classes a lot of people held onto their grief, because they weren't given proper closure.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Gajeel replied with a hint of honesty in his voice, which made Levy feel a little bit better. "You seem like an okay person." He shrugged his shoulders, and Levy laughed lightly shaking her head.

"Right," Levy smiled weakly. "So your injury was the result of your career as an Underground Fighter in the Fiore Circuit?"

Gajeel stared at Levy for a moment and looked away, nodding his head slowly. "Not really a fight directly, but yes." He licked his lips and stared out the window. The sun that had once been shining through had become hidden by dark grey clouds. A few moments later rain started to pitter-patter onto the glass of the window, streaming down in little squiggles.

"And this happened about six months ago?" Levy questioned with a slight tilt of her head.

"Yeah," Gajeel answered with a nod. "Fractured the bone in two places, tore the muscle, it was pretty fucking painful. And it still is to this day sometimes."

"Well don't worry," Levy said, placing her small hand on his massive shoulder. He looked at her hand curiously before looking to her. "I'm gonna help." She slowly removed her hand from his warm bare skin and swallowed hard. "So let's try this again, shall we?"

This was going to be a very interesting patient-doctor relationship.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>When Levy finally got home, she dropped all her bags in front of her. She kicked the door shut with the heel of her tennis shoes and let out a miserable, angry, and confused cry. The young woman fell back against the door and rubbed her face with her hands.<p>

"I don't know, Lucy, I don't think she's very excited," Natsu Dragneel, Lucy's boyfriend of two years, commented sarcastically as he looked at Levy. The blue haired girl apologized for her little out burst and stepped over her bags, kicking off her tennis shoes and pushed them aside. When she got to the table, she pulled out a chair and plopped down, looking utterly and completely defeated. "Did it not go well? You look miserable," Natsu said with a raised brow.

"Yeah, you sounded so excited over the phone," Lucy explained. "Did they change their minds?"

"No, but I might change mine," Levy mumbled bleakly. That Gajeel was a real piece of work. He had a snarky comment for everything, his whole outlook on stuff was just plain bitter. She couldn't have two sessions a week with him for the next three months for two to three hours a day, she'd go crazy. The whole time, Gajeel kept giving her a hard time, even though he told her he wouldn't. "This guy...he's...he's just...he's so...there are no words!" Levy seethed, scrunching up the pile of napkins that had been lying peacefully on the table.

"Well, don't take it out on the napkins, they had nothing to do with it," Natsu teased, gesturing to the now crumpled napkins in Levy's hands. She looked down and sighed softly, gently laying the white paper napkins out and flatted them accordingly. "Was he like mean or something?" the pink haired man asked before grabbing his slice of pizza.

Levy shook her head. "He is just...difficult," she tried, but it didn't exactly feel like the right word. He did everything she said, he just had something to say about it. Instead of just simply complying and doing the stretches, massages, or exercises, he would make a snarky remark. Most of the remarks were jabs at her not-a-real-doctor status. "And he's huge!" Levy threw her hands up in the air before leaning back into her chair.

"In his defense, Levy, you're really tiny," Natsu said just before taking another bite out of his pizza.

"He was probably surprised you were young," Lucy added in as she sipped on her soda. "I mean, he was probably expecting someone much older." She placed a slice of pizza on a plate and pushed it over to Levy, who thanked her.

"It was more because I'm not a 'real' doctor yet that had him all hot and bothered," Levy snorted, putting air quotes around the word real. "And that fact that he is my first official patient." She shrugged her shoulders at that bit and groaned, rubbing her temples.

"You actually told him that?" Natsu asked, trying to hold back his laugh. "No wonder he was giving you a hard time, he probably thought you didn't know what you were doing." He shoved some pizza into his mouth and chewed.

"But I do know what I'm doing! And no, I didn't tell him he just figured it out," Levy explained before taking a bite out of her own slice of pepperoni pizza. "I would never tell him he was my first patient."

Lucy swallowed the bite she had just made. "So what's he like then? What's his name?"

"His name is Gajeel Redfox," Levy informed the two. Natsu choked on his drink after the mention of the man's name and both girls looked at him quizzically. "You okay?" Levy asked while Lucy leaned over and patted his back gently.

Natsu coughed a few more times, his eyes watering slightly from the restriction in his throat. He took a few deep breathes and apologized before one more coughing fit hit him. "Ugh," Natsu groaned. "Did you say 'Gajeel Redfox'?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" Levy inquired with a furrowed brow as she took a bite out of her pizza.

"Do either of you have any idea who he is?" Natsu asked them with a beaming smile. The truth of the matter was Gajeel was somewhat of a celebrity if you followed the boxing underground of Magnolia, which Natsu did. Gajeel was a legend in and out of the arena, he was powerful, quick on his feet, and raw muscle. Anyone who followed the Underground Boxing matches knew of Gajeel, especially because of the stories that had been going around since his injury in the beginning of the preliminary rounds last season.

"He's a boxer or wrestler or something, isn't he?" Levy asked.

"Not just any boxer, he was once the reigning champion of the Magnolia Underground. Before his injury last season he would have won the title three years straight," Natsu explained. "He was the guy to beat and well...obviously they did."

Levy felt a bit awkward that her best friend's boyfriend, knew more about her patients history than she did. It was obvious she would have to go and do some research on this Gajeel Redfox. If he was such a legend there were probably plenty of stories on him and what happened. There might even be a reason why he acts like such an asshole.

"So he was some Underground Fighter, but got injured and had to step down?" Lucy tried to connect the dots.

"Technically, but there are loads of rumors behind what really happened," Natsu answered as he grabbed another slice of pizza and put it on his empty place. "Supposedly it was a planned injury so that he couldn't win three years in a row. There's even rumors that he brought the injury upon himself. Some even said his trainer injured him during some training session, it's all very weird."

"What's the truth though?" Lucy asked, stirring her straw around in her ice glass of soda. "What actually happened?"

"No one knows," Natsu said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Well, Levy might." The two looked to the blue haired woman, who shrugged her shoulders.

"I can't discuss patient-doctor issues, it wouldn't be appropriate." She took a bite out of her pizza, chewed and swallowed. "But believe me, I don't know much at all." All the file explained was his injury, it didn't specify details or how the injury occurred. The young doctor-in-training would be lying if she said she wasn't curious to know the real story.

"That's too bad, I'm kind of curious now even though I don't know anything about him or this Magnolia Underground." Lucy looked at Natsu, who started to ramble about how awesome it was. He even told her that they should go watch some of the fights. Apparently the season had just started a couple of months ago and soon they'd be getting into the preliminary rounds. Natsu told both girls that that part contained some of the best fights.

"I don't really condone fighting for entertainment reasons, it seems rather barbaric," Levy voiced with a shrug of her shoulders.

"It's so awesome!" Natsu exclaimed, throwing a fist in the air. "Totally gets me fired up."

"I never realized you were so into this," Lucy chimed in with a chuckle.

"I didn't figure you'd be interested," Natsu admitted with a shrug.

Lucy nodded her head in agreement. "You would be right," she laughed lightly, "I'm with Levy on this. Fighting for entertainment seems completely archaic."

Natsu waved the matter off, telling both girls they were missing out. He said they just couldn't understand, to which Lucy made the comment that it would just be easier for the men to stuff a sock down there. Natsu slapped a hand onto his face while the two girls cackled at Lucy's crude little joke.

"Either way, Gajeel is a legend, Levy. You should become his friend, that way you can get me into his fights for free," Natsu beamed, wiggling his brows at Levy. The blue haired girl narrowed her eyes at Natsu and shook her head. She wasn't going to use Gajeel like that, he already didn't think much of her as it was. They had three months of physical therapy to go through, two days a week for two to three hours, that was a lot of time to spend together.

"I'm not gonna do that," Levy assured Natsu, who frowned in defeat. "I don't think he'll be getting back into the ring anytime soon anyways."

"Are his injuries that bad?" Lucy asked curiously.

"No, it's not that," Levy interjected. She was positive that with proper physical therapy Gajeel could join the circuit again with ease, but she had a strong feeling he didn't want to. "I could be wrong, but I feel like his heart just isn't in it." She shrugged her shoulders and looked at the two. "I think whatever happened to end his career, he wants it to stay that way."


	2. That's Patient-Doctor Confidentially

**Author's Note:** Oh my goodness! I can't believe how many reviews I got on the first chapter. I was so excited to read what all of you had to say and thank you all so much for the kind words. I will definitely be continuing this story! Please forgive me for typos and grammar errors, I don't really edit any of my works, but I try to keep it neat and readable. Again thank you all for reading, reviewing, and adding this story to your favorites list! I appreciate it, enjoy chapter 2! Also I have a **tumblr (whereiscrystel?) **now if anyone would like to follow me or share your tumblr with me and I'll find you.

* * *

><p><strong><span>That's Patient-Doctor Confidentially<span>**

Lucy was in the kitchen making some pancakes while listening to her music. She was dancing around and singing along while Natsu and Gray were lounging on the couch playing some video games. Levy had become rather used to the two of them crashing at their apartment most of the time. They lived across the street anyways and mostly came for the free food. She walked out of her bedroom with her hair in a tousled blue mess, her clothes baggy on her small frame, and her glass pushed up her nose. Her brown eyes drifted to the two boys, eyes glued onto the screen they didn't even notice her. Not that she wanted to be notice, she had literally just rolled out of bed.

"Did you get the towels from the laundry mat down stairs?" Levy asked with a little yawn as she entered the small kitchen.

"Oh! I totally forgot," Lucy exclaimed just as she closed the oven with her foot. "Natsu!"

"Hang on a second!" Natsu called back as he started mashing the buttons on the controllers harder as if it would help him. A few seconds later his character died and Gray announced himself as victorious. The pink haired man growled at the dark haired man with stormy eyes and chunked a fuzzy pink throw pillow at him.

"Don't you two even start!" Lucy barked, slamming her hands down on the counter on either side of the sink. Her eyes narrowed at the two as they froze and dropped their pillows. The last time those two got started they broke one of Lucy's favorite mugs-which happened to have coffee in it-leading to a rather large dark brown splotch on the fancy plush white carpet that laid on the wooden floor. They also managed to knock over a lamp, which ripped part of the pale blue curtains hanging over the window. Levy had never seen Lucy so livid before, but she was made herself those curtains were priceless heirlooms from her grandparents before they passed when she was twelve.

"Sorry," both Gray and Natsu squeak as Lucy glared at them.

Levy chuckled from the entryway of the kitchen and leaned against the arch. "Could one of you go get our towels from the dryer downstairs?" she asked, tucking a curled strand of blue hair behind her ear.

"Yeah I'll go," Natsu said as he got up from the couch. He slipped on his shoes by the door and left quietly to fetch the laundry.

"Where's Juvia, Gray?" Levy inquired.

The handsome, shirtless, muscled man smiled at Levy and laid back on the couch, propping his bare feet up onto the coffee table. He grabbed a fuzzy pink pillow and hugged it. "She's taking up some extra classes for more money." Gray's girlfriend, Juvia, was a beautiful slender girl who taught children to swim at the local pool. They had only recently started dating a few months ago, but they had known each other for three years prior. Everyone knew that Juvia was head over heels for Gray, but he didn't think much of it. After Juvia's relentless flirting—stocking, really—Gray finally agreed to go on a date. Since then those two had been two peas in a pod.

"Gray!" Lucy barked, causing the dark haired man to jump. "Feet on the floor or come over no more." She pointed a spatula at him, and Gray slowly put his feet on the floor. Happy with his actions, Lucy went back to making breakfast while Levy chuckled from the archway.

"So I hear you have a famous someone as your first patient," Gray said, wiggling his eyebrows as he paused the video game. Levy frowned, it was bad enough that Natsu and Lucy knew, now Gray knew? She shouldn't have said it in the first place, it was against the rules and invaded Gajeel's privacy. No matter how much of an ass he was, Levy needed to respect his personal life. "You're a lucky, lucky lady."

"That remains to be seen," Levy muttered with an eye roll. "Gray you can't say anything! I shouldn't have even told Natsu and Lucy, but he just mad me so damn mad! I mean, he really is a piece of work." She shook her head and walked into the kitchen to make herself a cup of coffee.

"Hey now, he's your patient don't be rude," Gray teased with a wave of his hand. He went back to playing his game. "Besides he's famous, that's gotta mean something."

"Being famous does not give him the right to be an ass," Levy called from the kitchen as she watched the coffee maker work its magic. Unfortunately, Levy had another session with Gajeel today at two o'clock. She wasn't looking forward to it at all, the two day break from him just flew by. At least today the session would only be two hours, some stretches, some walking, a little pool time, and then they could call it a day.

When the coffee maker finished, Levy poured herself a cup and looked at Lucy. The blonde had a stack of pancakes on a plate along with some maple syrup and strawberry syrup all laid out. "Breakfast is served," Lucy announced when she finished frying the last piece of bacon. "It'll be so good that you won't even care about that guy."

Levy chuckled and shook her head. "I really hope so," she replied as she began to make herself a plate. Lucy gave her a thumbs up and promised that it would get better. That was probably true, Levy was new to this and had little experience. She just needed to work on it. There was only so much a book could teach you, sometimes you just had to dive in head first. She'd gone through many classes and seminars and watched plenty of educational videos, but it still didn't hold a candle to the real world.

The front door was kicked open gently as Natsu strolled in with a basket filled with towels. "As requested, fresh clean towels." He put the basket down on the couch and shut the door quietly. "So Levy, I was thinking—"

"This should be good," Gray chimed in, only to be hit in the head with a throw pillow. "Lucy your boyfriend is throwing your pillows!"

"Natsu!" Lucy hissed from the kitchen. She was glaring at him through the breakfast bar. The pink haired man chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck, apologizing for throwing the pillow. Lucy simply rolled her eyes and went back to washing the dishes so she could enjoy her pancakes.

"As I was saying," Natsu huffed as he gave Gray the finger, not that he was bothered by it in the slightest. "I was thinking that I could take you to work and possibly—"

"No!" Levy shrilled, causing Natsu to frown. "You can't meet him, I'm sorry. He's my patient, and I never should have mentioned who he was. It goes against every code of privacy there is. And no, I will not get you an autograph." She cut a piece of her pancake, swirled it around in her syrup and plopped it into her mouth.

"Now where's the fun in that?" Natsu grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest, pouting like a two year old. He sat down on the couch beside the basket and grabbed his video game controller. "Could you at least mention I'm a fan?" Natsu asked with a hopeful glow in his eyes.

Levy stared at him for a moment. He looked like a sad puppy out in the rain, looking for love and attention. Her lips twitched a bit, but she sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "If his career comes up again, I'll mention I have a friend who's a fan of his." She picked up a piece of bacon and took a bit. "Fair enough?" Levy asked after she chewed and swallowed.

"I'll take it," Natsu beamed with a single nod of his head.

Levy smiled back and nodded as she went back to her plate. She finished off her pancakes and shoveled the eggs around. When Lucy sat down beside her with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and pancakes of her own, she mentioned someone had been asking about her. Levy furrowed her brows. "Asking about me? Who?"

"Lyra and Loke and Aries," Lucy listed with a small smile. Levy laughed lightly and put a spoonful of scrambled eggs into her mouth. "You know that—"

"It's not worth the risk," Levy chirped before Lucy could finish her sentence. The blonde pursed her lips and rolled her pretty brown eyes. "Tell them I said hello though." She got up from the table and put her dirty dishes into the sink. Lucy tried to stop her, but Levy went to grab a towel and was in the bathroom in a flash.

"She does know that Jet hasn't worked at Loke's for like almost a year now, right?" Gray asked not taking his eyes off the screen as his fingers mashed down on the buttons. "And Droy moved to Crocus or somewhere over there." The level that he and Natsu were on ended and they turned their attention to Lucy.

"She knows, but she thinks she'll run into one of them…Jet in particular," Lucy explained as she ate her breakfast. "I've tried to get her to come out, but she just won't do it."

"That's too bad, open mic night is this weekend," Gray said as he went to the kitchen to make himself a plate.

"Levy used to be the local favorite," Natsu said. "We should just drag her back, Jet and Droy are old news. Loke would be excited to have her back, I bet."

Loke was a friend of theirs and he owned a relatively well know casual lounge known as The Lion's Den. Everyone Magnolia knew of it because it had just about everything anyone would need. There was a sizable dance floor, good music, fairly priced food and drinks, and no one under twenty-one was allowed inside on Friday or Saturday nights. A few of years ago, Levy's ex-boyfriend Jet, worked there as a bar tender. The two met and really hit it off all thanks to Loke, who introduced them. They dated for two years, but ended up breaking it off because of Levy's schooling. Even though they still cared about each other they drifted apart. One fateful day, Levy ran into Jet at a coffee shop with his new girlfriend. It really put Levy down even though they weren't dating, and hadn't been for a while, she still had deep feelings for Jet. Lucy would bet that even to this day Levy still has some kind of feelings for Jet. Right after those two had broken up their best friend, Droy, ended moving away. According to Levy, she hadn't heard from him in a long, long time.

Levy had her back pressed against the bathroom door, listening to her three friends talking about the past. She sighed softly and looked up at herself in the mirror. They were right, Jet and Droy were both gone now and living their own lives. She should be living hers, having fun and meeting new people. If all she did was work and stay home, she'd never meet anyone new aside from her patients.

Levy opened up the shower door and turned the knob. The water started, and she stripped herself of her clothes, allowing the water to hear up. Maybe it was time to get back out there. She and Droy had ended a year ago, there was no point in dwelling on the past. How could she ever let go of him if she didn't try? Steam began to fill the room and she climbed into the shower. The hot water felt so good against her skin, relaxing her entirely. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the shower wall.

It was time for her to move on.

It was time for her to let go.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>Levy rushed down to the locker room. She was running a little late for her session with Gajeel. His voice was already ringing in her ears. He would probably tease her for being late, pick on her for not being a real doctor, and something else. She could feel it in her bones, but she couldn't worry about that. Levy skidded to a stop in front of her locker and quickly twisted the combination. When the lock came open, she pulled the blue locker door open and shoved her things inside. Just before she shut her locker, she grabbed her water bottle and locked her belongings up.<p>

Levy spun around on her feet and darted for the training room. She glanced at the watch on her wrist, she was only five minutes late. If she was lucky, Gajeel would have just arrived or maybe he wasn't even there yet. When she arrived at the door, Levy trained to return her breathing to normal. The last thing she wanted to do was prove she was rushing. She ran her fingers through her hair and adjusted the orange leg warms around her legs. Levy unzipped her matching orange jacket and fixed the white tank top up underneath it.

"He's your patient, Levy," Dr. Makarov's voice came from behind.

The girl addressed squeaked and whipped around to the little old man, who started laughing at her reaction. "Dr. Makarov! You startled me." She put a hand on her chest and shook her head. Instinctively, Levy pulled down her black and orange yoga shorts, inwardly scolding herself for picking such clothing.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Makarov replied with a humble bow. "Don't be nervous, he won't care what you're wearing."

"I respectfully disagree, sir," Levy mumbled. "Last time didn't go too well, so I'm trying to give him no more ammunition than he already has."

"Levy," Dr. Makarov began, "You know what you are doing, and you are the top of your class. You have a lot of heart and you're kind. That all means something." He smiled at her.

"Thank you, Dr. Makarov, that really means a lot coming from you," Levy replied with a bright smile, her doubts being pushed away. The old man gave her a thumbs up and walked away, leaving Levy alone in the hall. She stared at the door for a moment longer before knocking. "Gajeel? I'm coming in." There was no answer, so Levy poked her head in the room.

The tall man was standing over by the window with his cellphone pressed against his ear. He didn't turn around, nor did he acknowledge he presence. She bit her lip and closed the door, while Gajeel was quietly talking on his phone. His back was too her and he leaned against the window sill, showing his broad shoulder muscles. He was undeniably one of the most physically fit person she had ever met, even more so than Gray and Natsu. And those two went to the gym four to five times a week.

"I'll call you later," Gajeel grumbled into his phone before hanging up. He let out a heavy breath and shook his head, tossing his phone into his black gym bag on the floor beside him. As he ran his fingers through his thick black hair, he turned around and looked at Levy. "You're late, half-pint." He crossed his arms over his chest, and Levy blinked several times before walking further into the room.

"Sorry, I was speaking with Dr. Makarov," she explained, it wasn't a total lie, she did stop to speak with him. "Besides it appears like you need the few minutes to take your call." She put her hands behind her back and lifted herself on her toes a few times. Her brown eyes fell to his leg, which wasn't in his boot but wrapped up in a slip on brace. His feet were bare as he stood on the matted floor, just watching her with little emotion at all.

"It was business," he retorted.

"As was my conversation with, Dr. Makarov," Levy assured him with a soft smile. "Business? Are you going to be starting again?" She was asking mostly out of curiosity. If what Natsu had said was true, a lot of people would probably be happy to see him in the ring again.

"That depends on you now doesn't it?" Gajeel asked with a shrug of his shoulders. "Can't win with a gimpy leg." He gestured to the wrap around his foot, ankle, and knee area. Gajeel licked his lips and walked over to the treadmill.

"Wait, stretches first," Levy said before Gajeel could get on the machine. She walked over to him and gently tugged him away. He sighed and walked into the middle of the matted area. Levy smiled and gestured for him to begin his stretches. "Come on," she ushered as she began to do a few stretches herself. "If you are depending on me to get you back to grade A shape, you have to do what I'm telling you." Levy smiled at him as she sat down and reached for her toes.

"Okay, Dr. Shrimp," Gajeel said as he sat down beside her and mimicked her stretches.

"Would it kill you to call me Levy?" she asked him with a snort.

"I don't know, it might," Gajeel quipped. "And you aren't really a doctor, so I don't want to test the theory." He smirked as he looked at her, and Levy scowled. They hadn't even really started and he was already getting her all worked up. In a way, Gajeel find it funny seeing someone so small so angry. She was like this little ankle biter dog, all yap and really no bite.

"You may be some legend in the Fiore Circuit, but that's your only redeeming quality." Levy stretched her legs out and reached for her toes before sitting up straight. She let out a slow breath and slowly leaned forward under she was doing the splits.

"Didn't realize you thought so little of me, Dr. Flexible," Gajeel snorted.

"Ugh, again with the names," Levy said as she sat back up. "And I looked you up."

"Looked me up?" Gajeel repeated, raising his pierced brow.

Levy nodded her head slowly and brushed a strand of hair from her face. "My friend's a huge fan."

Gajeel furrowed his brows. "Does he know I'm your patient?"  
>"No," Levy lied.<p>

"Cause if you told him…that would be breaking a cardinal rule of patient-doctor relationship," Gajeel stared Levy down, waiting for her to break under the pressure. Truth be told, he didn't really care. All he wanted to do was make her squirm, he found it very intriguing when she got all tongued and nervous. He was once a celebrity in the world of Underground Boxing, everyone was always in his business he was used to it. "Well Shrimp?" he pushed, and Levy licked her lips as she glared at him.

"I said—"

"I know you said you didn't, but you have lied in the past. And we know how I feel about that," Gajeel interrupted with a cheeky smile. "So I'm gonna ask again, did you tell him I was your patient?"

Levy took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled before curling her legs under herself. She faced Gajeel, who looked her up and down with those demonic red eyes. If she was a fighter, she'd be afraid of him. She could just imagine his muscles flexing with every move, the cold gaze of his red eyes, the power of his punches, and that devilish grin on his face. He had to have been something in the ring.

She swallowed. "Okay," she paused for a moment, locking eyes with him. "I did, and I'm sorry."

Gajeel stared at her, but she couldn't read his expression. It didn't appear like he was upset, or disappointed, it was like he was expressionless all together. Levy wasn't sure if she should take that as a good sign though.

"Now was that so hard?" Gajeel finally spoke after two minutes of pure silent torture. Levy was slight surprised by his question, she figured he would have snapped at her. He appeared to be surprisingly upbeat about the whole thing though. "Don't be so surprised. People knowing who and what's going on in my life isn't really a big deal. Besides, you're new, you'll make plenty of mistakes before you get it right."

"Wow," Levy stifled a laugh. "That was pretty enlightened." She got up onto her feet and gestured for Gajeel to get up too. When he was on his feet, she patted the treadmill and asked him to get on. He put his feet on either side of the belt and turned on the machine to a leisurely walking pace.

As he stepped on, Gajeel looked at Levy, who was watching him. "It was still wrong, you know, telling your friend. Fan or not."

"To be honest I had no idea he was one until I told him your name," Levy admitted with a half-hearted shrug.

"I see, so why were you talking about me anyways?" Gajeel asked her, taking one careful step at a time. Levy pressed a button, making the treadmill go up a notch in speed. "My handsome good looks?" he joked with a husky laugh.

Levy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, cause that's what I do," she retorted. "I was telling them about the hard time you were giving to me."

"Think of it as practice," Gajeel replied with a smirk. "And what do you mean them? You told more than one person?"

Levy quickly shut her mouth and started inwardly scolding herself. She had to be more careful with her words, Gajeel was obviously good at catching her little errors. When she looked back at Gajeel, he raised a brow at her. "I told my roommate and her boyfriend over dinner last night. I know it was wrong, but you…you are infuriating." She pointed her finger at him.

Gajeel blinked a few times. He could see that sugar coating things was not one of her strong points. She wasn't being like she was a couple of days ago. There was a bitchy abrasive side to her now, and while Gajeel wouldn't admit it out loud he found it attractive. Normally he went for the skanky blondes and brunettes in bars, but this girl was the complete opposite. She was doing something with her life, she had a good head on her shoulders, and she was feisty.

"You speak your mind, I'll give you that," Gajeel commented. "I like you."

"What?" Levy asked in surprise.

"You might not be a real doctor, but I think you'll make a good one…if you stop lying and stuff," Gajeel teased, making Levy shake her head and chuckle. He may have been an ass, but he seemed to be winding down a little bit.

"That's patient-doctor confidentially, not lying," Levy corrected, pressing the button to make the treadmill go faster.

Gajeel shook his head. "Says the girl who told her friends I was her patient."

"So would it be too much trouble to get your autograph for my friend?" Levy inquired with a small smile.

"Yeah," Gajeel answered. "That's too much."

Levy frowned, but shrugged it off and walked over to the computer station where she had left her water. "Well maybe once I fix you and get your career back on track." She turned to face him and winked at him, which made him chuckle lowly.


	3. Sweeter Than Fiction

**Author's Note:** Hello kids! So here I am with a very long chapter as a reward for the lovely comment you all left me. It put such a huge smile on my face, I hope you all enjoy this chapter and get a few laughs out of it. Please forgive me for typos and grammatical errors, I try not to make them. Can't wait to read what you guys think, thanks so much for reading and reviewing! It means so much to me!

* * *

><p><span><strong>Sweeter Than Fiction<strong>

The room was bursting with laughter.

"Don't pick that one! You know it was Natsu!" Levy laughed as she held up an Apples to Apples card that read 'My Body' on it. Everyone started laughing again while Natsu simply leaned back in his chair, eyeing his girlfriend. The blonde could only smile like she had slept with a hanger in her mouth and shake her head. "I have to win!" Levy shrilled at Lucy, who covered her face with her hands.

"Come on, Lucy, I laid on top of you naked and gave you the best sex of your life last night," Natsu announced.

The blonde's face went red. She looked at Natsu in disbelief. Of all the things he could have announced to all their best friend's it just had to be their sex life. She was about ready to flip the table over and kill him. All Lucy could think of now was grabbing his white scarf and swing him around by it from the roof of the building. She narrowed her eyes at him and she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"As interesting as it is to hear about your sex life, please pick a card and you should pick Firefighters, because they are dreamy," Gray said as he tapped his finger on the card he had laid down just moments before. He leaned back in his seat, smiled big, and let out a relaxed sigh. These were the best type of Saturday afternoons, the only thing that would have made it better for him was if Juvia was there. She was supposed to be at the apartment by 3:30, but it was almost four o'clock. "And my girlfriend isn't here and you picking Firefighters would make my dreams come true," he added in on a sarcastic note, playfully batting his eyelashes.

"Is that some sort of subliminal message?" Natsu asked with a coy smirk.

"Do you even know what that word means?" Gray shot back.

"Oh brother," Erza Scarlet, a redheaded beauty with a feisty attitude, grumbled as she stared at Natsu and Gray. "This is why I moved across the country."

"You moved across the country for a stupid boy," Lucy snorted.

"Fiancé," Erza corrected with a smile as she held up her hand with a pretty heart shaped diamond ring set in a shimmering silver band. It was a gorgeous ring, anyone could admit to that and Erza did have a glow about her. "Now, you two stop fighting already and let's play this game." The redhead slapped her hand down on the table they were seated at and everyone went silent.

"Don't pick Natsu's," Levy whispered to Lucy, who sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You should pick my card," Natsu said to Lucy, wiggling his eyebrows a bit. "My body is dreamy, it's a fucking wonderland."

"Hey!" Juvia greeted as she came into the apartment with her hair wet and sunglasses propped up on her nose. She pushed them up just as she kicked the door shut and shucked her blue and white striped flip flops off. Her matching bag was still slung on her shoulder and hanging just past her hip. When she dropped it onto the couch she looked over at the table and chuckled. "Apples to Apples, love this game. What's the word?"

"It's dreamy," Gray answered as Juvia came over to him. She smiled at him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. They shared a quick chaste kiss before Gray looked back to Lucy and said, "Firefighters are dreamy, so pick them and let's move on."

"Johnny Depp is dreamy," Levy chimed in, tapping her own card. "You know he's dreamy, Lucy. He trumps Natsu's body any day."

"That's what you put down, Natsu?" Juvia laughed when she saw the card reading 'My Body' on it.

"It's a dreamy fucking wonderland," Natsu assured them, holding up his arms and flexing them as if he was some sort of body builder.

"Need to wash your mouth out with soap, how dare you say such foul language in front of us ladies," Erza scolded, waving her finger at Natsu. The pink haired man laughed lightly and apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. "This," Erza pointed to Natsu and looked at Lucy, "this is why you get men like Jellal."

"Oh geez, he's all business suits and manners, I'm a real man." Natsu jutted his thumb towards his chest, making Lucy purse her lips.

"No, you're a lug-head," Erza retorted.

"Where is Jellal?" Juvia asked, her blue eyes searching for the blue haired man. He wasn't anywhere to be seen in Lucy and Levy's apartment though. It was strange that he wasn't playing, he and Erza always got so competitive when it came down to board games, video games, trivia games, or any kind of game really. Last summer when they were all heading down to the coast for a three day weekend, Erza and Jellal played the license plate game and it got a little violent with the 'playful' punches and pinching. Juvia swore she'd never ride in a car with those two ever again.

"He went to go pick up the food," Levy answered. "So Lucy, pick a card."

"Okay," Lucy sighed. "I pick..."

"Firefighters!" Gray exclaimed.

"No! Johnny Depp!" Levy interjected, kicking Gray from under the table. The dark haired man yelped in pain and glared at Levy, who smiled innocently and looked to Lucy. "Come on, I have a patient who's ridiculously infuriating, I deserve this win."

"I thought you said things were better with this past session," Gray remarked with a smirk, causing Levy to stick her tongue out at him. Juvia shook her head, she didn't understand why her friends got so competitive over a silly card game such as Apples to Apples. Then again, it was no different than the kids she taught at the pool. They always had to one up each other, she assumed it was just human nature to be the best. "So technically, you don't deserve this win."

"Yeah he's right, besides we all know that my body is dreamy," Natsu chimed in.

"Now we're just going in circles, just pick one Lucy," Erza said, finally having enough of this one card. As it was she was winning, but if she didn't get picked this round she'd be tied with Natsu if Lucy picked him. "And doctors are dreamy, I mean come on we used to talk about them all the time back in high school." Erza smiled and nudged Lucy, who could only giggle.

"So the choices are firefighters, doctors, Johnny Depp, and my body?" Juvia asked, looking down at the four cards laid out in front of Lucy. "And the game is completely ruined because she knows whose card is whose."

"It will only be ruined if she doesn't pick mine," Gray said, putting his arm around Juvia and pulling her down onto his lap. She chortled and shook her hand, resting her arm along Gray's shoulder that was for once covered by a t-shirt. Normally he'd be shirtless in shorts, jeans, or more commonly his boxers. It must have been since Erza was there, he was afraid of her outbursts, it wasn't just him though Natsu was too.

"Don't let Natsu's arrogant albeit sexy way of winning you over get to you," Levy said to Lucy, who stifled a laugh and shook her head. She couldn't remember why they chose Apples to Apples, this was bound to happen because of that game.

"See even Levy agrees that my body is dreamy." Natsu smiled brightly and winked at Lucy, who blushed slightly.

The front door swung open followed by Jellal carefully entering the apartment with four boxes of pizza and two liters of soda. "Alright, food's here everyone," Jellal said as he carefully used his foot to close the door. At the top of the four boxes he was holding was round clear container revealing Erza's favorite sweet: strawberryshort cake. "Who's winning now?" Jellal asked as he placed the food down on the breakfast bar.

"Me, if Lucy would pick my card," Erza announced in that hint-hint nudge-nudge sort of way. Jellal chuckled as he walked over to her and kissed the top of her head. "I didn't want to use this, but I'm getting married letting me win this would be my gift."

"This is going to be a very fun bridal shower," Lucy said sarcastically, earning a small laugh from everyone. "Alright, I'll pick already so stop interrupting. All of you!" Lucy hissed, pointing at everyone.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Levy shouted, flailing her hands up in the air above her head. "One last interruption." She held up one finger and everyone groaned in frustration. It was like the game was never going to end with all the interruptions. "I have a trump card that beats all of theirs." Levy pointed to everyone in the room.

"I'd like to hear this trump card," Natsu challenged with narrowed eyes.

"It has been ten months and thirteen days since I have had sex, I deserve to win to preserve any type of dignity I have," Levy said, looking to everyone.

It was silent in the room, Lucy was blinking in shock, Erza's mouth had fallen open, and everyone else was just quiet. They were all staring at Levy, who was suddenly beginning to feel self conscious. It was like she was on display or something, they were gawking at her as if she was some sort of mythical creature.

"Ten months and thirteen days?" Lucy repeated.

"That's a long time," Jellal admitted. "I'm so sorry."

"Yeah, it's not exactly something I'm proud of." Levy blushed and stared down at the table. After her and Jet ended, she went on a slutty-spree of sleeping with anyone who came to Loke's place. At least the ones that had penises.

"We could solve all your problems if you would just come out with us tonight," Gray pointed out, but Levy shook her head. After having slept with six other guys after her and Jet broke up in a two month time span, she felt guilty and sleazy. She had managed to pull all the broken pieces back together and she wasn't about to go back to the whole sleeping-around phase. A lot had happened in a year, she had gone from adulterous whore to classy future doctor. "We're all going, we're all going to have fun, have a few drinks, dance, and all that good stuff."

"He's right, Levy, it'll be fun you should come," Juvia agreed with her boyfriend, smiling to her fellow blue-haired friend. "I mean do it for Erza and Jellal." She pointed to the young couple across from them, who both nodded and smiled.

"No, I have my books," Levy replied with a wave of her hand. "Fictional men are way better than real men, no offense."

"Offense taken," Natsu snorted with an eye roll. "You should come out with us. Have some fun, have some hormones."

Levy laughed. "No, books are good."

Lucy scrunched up her nose and shook her head. She loved books just as much as Levy and she even wrote. "I love books, Levy. You know this," Lucy said to Levy, who nodded her head knowingly. "But there are things out there sweeter than fiction. Please, just come out with us tonight. If it goes horribly wrong, then we'll never ask you again. And if you don't come out with us, we'll force you to come out."

"You'll force me?" Levy repeated with a laugh. "How could you force me?"

"I'm freakishly strong when I wanna be," Lucy replied, batting her mascara covered lashes. "So are we doing this the easy way or the hard way?"

Levy looked at everyone, who was staring at her with curious eyes. She knew they would force her if she didn't go. Lucy wasn't kidding, and she knew it would be easier to just agree. It had been a long time since she'd been out. Ten months and thirteen days with no sex whatsoever was a long time for a young woman like herself.

"Well," Levy began and cleared her throat. "I suppose it wouldn't be...all bad."

"Good, this will be good for you," Lucy assured Levy with a wink.

"Alright, now pick a card," Natsu said, pushing his card closer to Lucy.

"Oh my goodness, Natsu!" Lucy scowled, throwing her hands up in the air. She reached for his card and selected it. "Here, I pick your card." She handed him his card and rolled her eyes.

"What! You were supposed to pick mine," Levy whined, holding up her card.

"Don't worry, we'll get you laid tonight," Natsu said, nudging Levy with his elbow. The blue haired girl slapped a hand to her forehead and shook her head.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>She looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair wasn't in it's natural curls, but instead pin straight falling just past her breast. Normally Levy wasn't one to wear make-up, but Lucy encouraged her to add a little edge to her style. This night though she had put on her favorite red lipstick, winged-eyeliner, her lucky tear-drop shaped earrings and matching necklace. Her dressy was sexy and sleek, hugging the few small curves she did have on her hips, butt, and breast. The top was cut down low, showing off a decent amount of cleavage. Levy felt weird, but Lucy assured her she looked just fine. The fact was Levy was used to being in sweat pants and t-shirts with tennis shoes. Not in a sexy, beautiful cocktail dress and four inch high heels.<p>

"You're totally panicking," Juvia said as she entered Levy's room and stood in the doorway. She was a vision in her silver halt dress that fluttered about her knees. "It's been a while since I've seen you all dolled up. You look great." Juvia smiled at Levy and walked over to her friend, her black high heel boots clicked on the wooden floor.

"Lucy did my hair," Levy replied as she looked back at her reflection. She couldn't deny she did look pretty sexy, Lucy was right that straight her hair would really bring out her face shape. "I haven't gotten this dolled up since my graduation dinner."

Juvia only smiled at Levy and nodded her head. It was true, Levy wasn't one to get very dressy at all. She was more of the down-to-earth type. A casual sun dress and flip-flops, or a dressy blouse with slacks was about as dressy as she got. Lucy and Juvia had always tried to get her to embrace her feminine side, but to no avail. Even Erza had tried, but Levy refused and just stuck with a casual sundress to the summer gala they attend for charity fundraiser. Sometimes Levy's friends didn't think she realized what an incredible and beautiful woman she was. After Jet and her came to an end, she sort of lost her confidence and it only got worse when Droy moved away. Her life instantly became work and home, nothing else mattered to her aside from her books.

"Hey are you guys ready?" Lucy asked as she walked into the room. She had her hair in loose ringlet curls that fell down her back. Her dress was strapless, but highlighted her large breast size. When she looked up from her small blue clutch she was holding, she smiled when she saw Levy all dressed up and looking beautiful. "Hey! You look great."

"Thanks," Levy laughed shyly, brushing her hair behind her ear. "Let's get going, the sooner we start this the sooner it's all over."

"Don't be so pessimistic," Lucy chided with a wave of her finger. "You used to love going to Loke's."

"Key word being 'used to' as in before, not anymore. I have responsibilities," Levy reminded Lucy as the left her bedroom and went out into the living room area. Everyone else was waiting and talking amongst themselves. It was just like old times before Jellal and Erza moved across the country, before Levy had graduated from school, before Juvia and Gray had started dating, before everything that had happened in the past year.

"Tonight you have no responsibilities," Erza said as she stood up from the table, fixing up her off the shoulder deep red dress that came to her mid-thigh and hugged her curves. "The only thing you need to do is have fun." Erza put her manicured hand onto Levy's shoulder and smiled brightly.

"It's Sunday tomorrow anyways, you aren't meeting your patient. So even if you get wasted, you have an entire day to recuperate," Gray added in as he stood up and rolled up the sleeves of his black button down, pushing them up to his elbows. "In other worlds, go crazy, let out all your sexual frustration." He winked at Levy, who scrunched up her nose. That didn't exactly sound like something she wanted to do. She was twenty-four years old, she was too mature to just sleep around.

"Gray's right, get yours," Juvia chimed in as she walked over to Gray and looped her arm through his.

"I shouldn't have said anything and I could just be relaxing at home while all of you go and get drunk," Levy said as she pulled her purse strap onto her shoulder. She couldn't say she was exactly dreading the idea of going out for a good time, it was just they were going to a place that used to be for all of them. And that group had changed so much, maybe she should look at it as a special gathering, but she knew if she went there all she would see is memories of her and Jet.

"I promise it will be better than any book you have on that shelf and I can say that because I've read all of those books," Lucy replied as she opened up the front door and gestured for everyone to head out. "Just try and be optimistic, who knows you might remember what you used to love about it."

"What I used to love about it isn't there anymore," Levy mumbled under her breath as she followed the group outside. Even though she didn't want to really go, she knew she owed it to herself. She was always studying and working at the medical facility, it was finally time to put herself out there. "Please don't let me sleep with anyone," Levy begged as she hooked her arm through Lucy's.

"But what if he's the one?" Natsu asked as he put his arm around Lucy. They all began walking down the stairwell, heading to the first floor.

"I doubt, I'm going to meet 'the one' tonight, Natsu," Levy assured him as she put air quotes around 'the one'. The pink haired man shrugged his shoulders, telling her she would never know if she didn't try. In Levy's mind though, she was trying, she was going out after all. That had to count for something. Besides, she wasn't wanting to find the man she was going to spend the rest of her life with this particular night. All she really wanted was someone who made her feel alive.

"Baby steps," Jellal said as he and Erza came up beside Levy. "Don't do what doesn't feel right."

"But with alcohol everything feels right," Levy commented, causing everyone to laugh. It was true, alcohol made men brave and women loose, it was a scientific fact.

"You're a great girl, Levy," Jellal replied, patting her on the shoulder. "Don't over think and everything should be just fine." He smiled down at her as she gazed up at him. She could trust Jellal, he was one of the good guys, one that was a true gentleman. Levy wouldn't deny that she was jealous that Erza had a man like him, but they were the picturesque couples. They were the kind of couple she'd read about in Nicholas Sparks novels.

"I'll try," Levy said as they all separated to get into one of the two vehicles they were taking. When she got into the back seat of Lucy's car, she pulled on her seatbelt and looked out the window. She sighed softly and told herself to think positive. It wasn't like she had to drink or meet anyone, all she had to do was hang out with her friends.

There was absolutely no pressure at all.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>No pressure at all, that was a total scream.<p>

Five shots of bourbon, two cocktails, and a rum and coke later, Levy was totally wasted. The unfortunate part to all of it, she was a super friendly drunk. She was a complete social butterfly, talking to everyone and their grandmother. All the giggling, blushing, and sexual innuendoes was almost too much to bear. Perhaps the innocent and bubbly Levy McGarden had an inner dominatrix that had been dying to get out for the past ten months and thirteen days. She was dancing with every single guy, laughing like she'd never laughed before, and throwing back the drinks until she couldn't count anymore.

"Are you sure that's Levy?" Loke, the handsome owner of The Lion's Den, asked Natsu and Lucy who were watching Levy shamelessly flirting with some random guy.

"I don't know," Lucy replied with a shake of her head, her eyes never leaving her best friend and roommate. Obviously, Levy let herself go and every guy was loving it. "Should we do something?" Lucy asked when Levy started laughing, running her hand seductively up and down the guy's chest.

"Don't worry we're keeping an eye on her," Loke said, gesturing to himself and his good friend Capricorn. "You two should go have some fun, it's barely eleven." The orange haired man waved them off before he continued to dry some glasses with a white cloth.

"Okay, but don't let her get too crazy," Lucy said, pointing a finger to Loke. He gave her a thumbs up and reassured her that Levy would be fine. Natsu agreed, saying Loke always looked after the women in his bar. It was a known fact that Loke didn't tolerate any men forcing themselves on women, he'd thrown out several men for sexually harassing his customers. "Okay, I'm trusting you. Come on, Natsu." Lucy smiled at her boyfriend and drug him out onto the dance floor.

Loke chuckled and shook his head. He tended to a few customers and chatted with them for about ten minutes when he noticed Levy drunkly approached the bar. As she clumsily climbed onto the bar stool, she slammed her hand onto the counter and demanded to have another rum and coke. The orange-haired man stifled a laugh and excused himself from the group he was with. He walked over to Levy and leaned forward on the wooden counter, raising a brow at her.

"Loke!" Levy beamed.

"You're drunk, I don't think you need another," he said to her with a soft smile, taking away her empty glass that was once filled with rum and coke. "You're like 105 pounds soaking wet."

"I'm 110!" Levy interjected.

"My apologies," Loke said with a slight bow of his head. "How about some water?" he asked her as he grabbed a clean cup and filled it with water from the tap. The blue haired girl scrunched up her nose and told him she'd rather have a beer. Loke stifled a laugh, telling her she should drink some water first then they could attempt a beer.

"See that's what I...Levy McGarden...like about...you, Loke McSteamy," Levy slurred and started giggling, leaning back in the stool. She nearly fell off of it, but Loke grabbed her arms just in time and pulled her forward.

"Yeah, let's just stick with water for now," Loke said, pushing the cup of water to Levy.

"Loke McSteamy," Levy spoke out rather harshly, slapping her hand flat onto the counter. The owner's eyes widened and he blinked a few times. He knew Levy was drunk, it was written all over her face, her movements, and her words. He hadn't seen her this drunk since the day she and Jet broke it off. That was a long night too, Levy had gone wild that weekend. She never had called him Loke 'McSteamy' though, it was almost flattering, but not really since he knew it was just the liquor in her system. In the morning she'd be so hung over she wouldn't remember a thing. It was probably for the best if she didn't remember though, because she might actually die from the embarrassment.

"Yes, Miss Levy?" Loke asked as he started pouring some shots for a girl who had ordered half a dozen of them.

"I think we should...like...totally...like you know...have sex," Levy slurred, grabbing Loke's tie and pulled him forward. His face was now inches from hers and he laughed light-heartedly. "I'm really...bendy." She flashed him a seductive smile and batted her lashes at him.

Loke pulled his tie from her hold and handed the small tray of drinks to the woman and took her money. "Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea." He shook his head and rested his elbows onto the counter. "I appreciate the offer though." Loke winked at her, and Levy scowled.

"See, I knew you would say that," Levy sighed in defeat. "Well can't blame a girl for trying." The blue-haired girl winked at Loke and slid off of her barstool. It was a bad idea for her to be wearing heels, she could barely walk in them and now with her added drunkenness it only made it worse.

"Maybe you should sit up here for a while, Levy," Loke suggested before she walked away. She was trying to stabilize her wobbly legs by holding onto the bar. After a few seconds, she composed herself and looked at Loke. "Come on, stay and chat." He smiled at her, but Levy shook her head.

"I wanna talk to someone who wants to fuck me," Levy stated as a matter-of-factly, waving her finger at him and then giggling slightly. The orange haired man stared at Levy for a moment, he didn't imagine words like that coming out of her mouth. It most certainly had to be all the alcohol in her system, he was surprised she was still standing let alone comprehending things.

"Hey bartender!" a man from the other end of the bar shouted, waving Loke over.

"Levy, stay here please, I'll be right back." Loke held up a finger to Levy, who just stared at him. As he walked away, Levy watched him go and blinked a few times. She peered at the bottles of beer sticking up from the ice box on the other side of the bar. Against her better judgement, she reached for a bottle and plucked it out effortlessly. Putting the metal cap of the beer bottle on the edge of the counter, Levy slammed her hand down on it. The top popped off and she beamed happily as she brought the beer to her lips and started to chug it down.

Her friends had all, but vanished. Lucy and Natsu were out dancing on the dance floor, lost in their sex on hardwood flooring. Jellal and Erza had gone up to the second floor to talk, and Juvia and Gray were probably making out somewhere like the bathroom or storage closet. Levy felt pretty down at that moment, all her friends had someone and there she was all alone feeling like a freak. She was a successful, twenty-four year old woman with a bright future ahead of her.

But no guy wanted her...aside from a good night in bed.

That wasn't what she wanted though, she wanted something of quality and substance and that wouldn't be found in a bar. Or maybe it could, but she really doubted it. Her stomach began to feel a little upset, all that alcohol was finally catching up with her. She felt dizzy and sluggish, she needed to get some air and sit down with her head between her knees for a little while. Carefully weaving through the crowd of people, Levy managed to make it to the front door. She stumbled out and wobbled over to the edge of the building.

When she got to the alleyway, she felt the acid in her stomach churning. There wasn't a doubt in her mind she was going to be throwing up all night and have the world's worst hangover in the morning. Levy pressed her back against the wall and let out a breath, trying to keep it together.

"Hey," some guy with a choppy haircut and dark eyes said when he spotted Levy in the alleyway. He was with three other guys, but told them he'd catch up with them a little later. They all left without any question. Levy knew exactly what that meant, he was gonna try to get it in. She was too drunk and too sick to really argue or do anything about it either, and she'd stupidly come out by herself. Her eyes drifted to the beer bottle in her hand, and she took a nice log swig before tossing it aside.

"Hi," Levy replied, not making eye contact with him.

"Your that sexy girl that was dancing on the bar earlier," the guy said, and Levy nodded slowly. She was really regretting coming outside alone. "You heading home?" he asked, putting one hand beside her head on the wall, trapping her within the alleyway. His body was getting closer to hers, she could smell the cigarette smoke and whiskey on his breath, which was not helping her stomach at all.

"Yeah, just waiting for my friends," Levy explained, waving the matter off. "So you can go."

"Hey come on," the guy said, putting one hand on her waist. Levy moved away from his touch, and asked him to stop. "Why? You seemed so friendly earlier, damn good kisser and that ass." He reached for her butt and squeezed it tightly, causing levy to yelp.

She lifted her hand and slapped him across the face. He stumbled back and cursed as he touched the reddening mark of his face. "Don't you dare touch me!" Levy hissed, narrowing her eyes at him. her fear was quickly beginning to sober her up. She needed to get out of that alley and back inside before something really terrible happened to her. Just as she made up her mind to walk away, the man grabbed hold of her wrist and pulled her back. He slammed her up against the wall, pressing one of his legs between her thighs. She squirmed and begged him to stop, trying to push him away. Unfortunately, do to being incredibly drunk and scared, she couldn't muster much strength at all.

"Don't struggle sexy, i'm gonna fuck you good," he whispered huskily into her ear, causing Levy to tremble. Her body was frozen now, all she could think was that he was going to rape her in the middle of the alley. The music was so loud in the bar the bouncers wouldn't be able to hear her over it. "Now just hold still."

He pressed himself up against her, his erection pressing onto her thigh. Levy tried to break free, but he was too strong for her. She was so small and fragile in this state. "Please! Stop it!" Levy cried out, the tears streaming down her face like little black rivers from her mascara and eyeliner. "Don't do this, please!" She tried to wiggle free, but he had her pinned to the wall.

"Shut the fuck up already!" the guy barked as he slammed her two small wrist above her head. With his free hand he reached for the bottom of her dress and pulled it up. He grabbed a hold of her lacy black panties and yanked them off.

"Someone! Help me!" Levy screamed as loud as she could.

The man slapped Levy across her face, causing her to whimper. "What did I just say you little bitch?" he growled as he began to undo his belt.

"No! No! No!" Levy begged.

Just when the man was about to pull down his pants, he was yanked away. Levy gasped as she fell forward onto her knees, hugging herself as she looked up and saw that someone had come to her rescue.

"Bastards like you really make me sick," the man who had saved her growled viscously as he slammed the man up against the other wall, holding him by his throat. He was practically suffocating him as he held him up from the ground. "Don't you dare touch this woman again, or I swear to fucking God I will kill you." The tall muscled man tossed the other guy aside and told him to get lost. Without a single protest the man who tried to rape Levy scrambled off and didn't once look back over his shoulder.

Levy was still trembling on the ground, everything was starting to get really blurry. She felt so dizzy and sick and nothing was making sense. All she knew was that she was nearly raped, but had been rescued by someone. He looked familiar with his long dark hair, muscled figure, and dark attire. Even his smell and the sound of his voice was familiar to her.

"Hey, you okay?" her rescuer asked once he was sure that other guy was long gone. He turned around and knelt down beside her. His calloused hand gently reached under her chin and lifted it up into the dim light that was buzzing above them. "Shorty?"

That's when it finally clicked. All the dots were finally connected. Her rescuer was her asshole of a patient, the legend of Magnolia's Underground Boxing, Gajeel Redfox. Suddenly, she was wishing for anyone else to be her rescuer. It was so unprofessional to be drunk in front of a patient, not that that was the most important thing. Some man had nearly raped her in the middle of an alleyway, he slapped her, humiliated her, and Gajeel was now there witnessing the aftermath. She really just wanted to break down and cry while hiding under her comforter in her nice clean, safe bed back at the apartment.

"Gajeel? Please..." she begged with tears in her eyes. "Please don't...say anything."

He just stared at Levy, he didn't recognized her moments ago when he saw that bastard trying to rape her. With her hair straight and dressed in a sultry dress, he never would have suspected it to be Levy.

"Please..." Levy whispered as she started to sway.

"Whoa now, Shorty," Gajeel said as she passed out, falling against his chest. He blinked a few times and looked around, but discovered he was on his own. "Fuck," he huffed and shook his head as he scooped Levy up into his arms. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," he mumbled as he started walking towards his apartment.


	4. The Morning After

**Author's Note:** Hey there everyone! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the rest to follow. Also, thank you all so much for the reviews, favorites, and alerts! This is so great, I love updating for you guys. I hope to have another update again this weekend, so give me some encouragement! Thanks for reading and supporting me! Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

><p><span><strong>The Morning After<strong>

The sun broke through the blinds hanging open over the window. She could hear the rumbling of a dump truck followed by loud banging of metal. How could anyone sleep through such a horrible sound? The hissing of the air brakes filled the quiet room. Levy McGarden cursed inwardly and slowly opened her eyes. She closed them again though due to the bright natural light of the sun. Her hands reached for the blanket, which she pulled over her face and sighed heavily. Everything last night was such a blur, and her head was pounding. Obviously she had drank, and drank a lot at thought. Probably way more than someone of her stature and weight should drink. She was just relieved she had managed to get home from the bar, she'd probably made such a fool of herself last night.

Levy let out a breath and brought a hand to her head. The headache was insanely worse than she remembered them to be. Her stomach didn't feel all that great either. All she wanted was some aspirin and some peace and quiet. She was going to need to sleep all day in order to recuperate from her wild night. Levy pulled the blanket away from her face and slowly sat up. She felt very dizzy as she did so, and dreaded opening up her—most likely—bloodshot eyes to the sunlight. Levy told herself to just do—rip the Band-Aid off—and opened up her eyes.

Carefully and slowly, Levy started to open up her eyes and groaned as the light blinded her. Her body was sore, her brain hurt, her eyes burned, and she didn't doubt that she looked a hot mess. Her hair probably resembled that of a cockatoo, and her make-up was grossly smeared on her face. She put her hand to her head again and let her eyes adjust to the light. Levy gently slapped her cheeks, mentally telling herself to pull it together. She was going to kill her friends for letting her get so crazy that it resulted in her current hangover.

A few moments later, Levy could finally see her room…or someone's room. Her eyes widened as she realized that she wasn't in her room, nor Lucy's. She slowly turned her head to look around the room that was definitely male. The blue-haired woman gasped and put her hand to her mouth. She started mentally kicking herself, she had remembered flirting with Loke.

Had she slept with him?

Had she just crossed the line?

Had she become an adulterous whore?

Levy gripped her hair at her crown and shook her head. Loke would never cheat on Aries, he loved her way too much. Besides the room wasn't immaculate, Loke was a very orderly person. This room was disheveled and falling apart. The whole room appeared old, Loke lived in a modern apartment and was a minimalist. This left Levy to conclude that it couldn't have been Loke. She was relieved about that, but at the same time anxious. What if she still slept with someone who had a girlfriend? Or even worse was married with children.

_I'm so going tell hell! I'm an adulterous whore! Fuck!_ Levy thought bitterly as she pulled the dark grey sheets from her body. _Whose shirt is this? Oh my goodness! Where the hell are my panties?_ She started to panic and moved the sheets around, but her dress and panties were long gone. Her bra was missing too, which made her want to curl into the fetal position and beg that the man she had bumped uglies with was a decent person. Her brown eyes scanned the floor, which was littered with old fast-food bags, a few Styrofoam cups, shirts, boxers, and socks. Unfortunately, none of the clothes belonged to her.

She saw a bookshelf tucked into the corner of the room, but there were hardly any books on it. There were a couple of magazines, a dictionary, comics, and what appeared to be some old board games like children's board games. Levy raised a brow in curiosity wondering why a man would have Operation, Jenga, Battleship, Hungry, Hungry Hippos, and Monopoly. She got up from the bed and tiptoed over to the bookshelf, kneeling down to the ground to see the games. A small smile came to her face when she spotted one of her childhood favorites Candyland and Uno. She stood up and turned around, noticing that above the bed were some skateboards mounted onto the wall with unique graffiti art. On the wall perpendicular to that one were four guitars that were all mounted to the wall, two were acoustic and two were electric.

There was only a single window to the room, which appeared to view out into an alley way. On either side of the window were a couple of posters of different bands and on the windowsill where two picture frames. Levy tilted her head in a curious manner and walked over to the window. She grabbed one of the frames that appeared to be of a young girl with long indigo hair standing next to a tall man with dark skin and a scar on the edge of his eye. The little girl was sitting on the bungee ropes that went around a boxing area, while the man stood beside her with his arms crossed over his chest.

Levy smiled as she put the picture down and went to look at the other one. Her eyes widened at the image of Gajeel Redfox—her patient—with the same girl from the last picture. He was holding the young girl up with his arm and she was swinging from it. Levy stared in complete and utter shock. The room she was in, the large baggy black t-shirt she was wearing, the man she had slept with was Gajeel Redfox.

"Holy shit," Levy cursed. "I'm so fucking fired."

It couldn't be possible. What were the odds that she would run into her patient? What were the odds that they would be so drunk that they'd have sex? She couldn't even remember seeing him, but then again most of last night was coming in bits and pieces. Gajeel hated her, or he didn't seem to really like her, he couldn't have possibly had sex with her. Or could he? At the end of the day he was still a man. His testosterone was probably all high to due to the alcohol, blaring music, and hot sweaty bodies all on each other like white on rice.

Levy let out a breath and slowly stumbled back to the bed and slumped down. She didn't want to believe it, she couldn't believe it. This had to have broken just about every possible doctor-patient rule ever made. Her life had actually become one of those lame porno stories that you could find on the internet. She buried her face in her hands and rolled onto her tummy. Never in her life had she felt so humiliated! All she wanted to do was curl up into a little ball and turn to dust to be blown away with the wind.

This sucks, no, my friends suck...Gajeel sucks! Levy thought heatedly as she rolled back over and stared up at the ceiling. What am I going to do? I can't just act all normal...he's seen me naked...maybe he was so drunk he doesn't remember like me. Levy sat up on the bed and looked to the door. She swallowed hard, she couldn't just sit there all day. Lucy and the others were probably worried about her. Gasping, Levy shot up from the bed and started looking around for her purse or phone, but it was not there.

"Fuck!" Levy cursed, gripping her hair tightly as she spun around in a small circle. Her head began to pound again and she groaned. This was not her day, nothing was going right, and she felt like she'd been hit by a wrecking ball. "No, this is Lucy's fault...she can worry about me." Levy turned back to the door and sighed.

_Oh shit...what if we didn't use protection? What if I'm pregnant!?_ Levy started to go into a panic and paced back and forth by the foot of the bed. She had to get things straight, she had to go out and find Gajeel. All these assumptions were only going to get worse...nothing could be worse than what was going through her head...or could it? She stopped pacing and stared at the door for a good five minutes. _Why is it so quiet? Did he leave me all alone? In his apartment? His grungy-ass apartment..._Levy thought with a scrunching of her nose.

For someone who used to make good money being a boxer...he sure did live in a rundown apartment. It looked like it was well over twenty-years old and had probably had several tenants. Based on the alleyway outside, Levy concluded they were near the heart of the city. The noise of car horns and sirens wailing could only conform they were definitely in the city and far away from the much more relaxed suburbs.

"Focus Levy!" she hissed at herself. It was no time to be thinking about Gajeel's apartment or where she was located. She needed to get out of his room, find her clothes, find her phone, and call Lucy or Natsu to come get her, so she could die of embarrassment peacefully. The blue-haired girl fixed up her hair, adjusted the giant t-shirt she was wearing and walked towards the door. Her hand hovered over the knob for a few moments. "Just open the door," she told herself as she grabbed the knob and pulled it open.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>"What do you mean she just disappeared? She's a person, Loke! Not a magician's rabbit!" Lucy snapped as she slapped a hand down on the counter of his bar. It was ten in the morning and Loke really didn't want to be yelled at, but he make the exception for Lucy. Besides her best friend was currently missing and her purse and phone were left at the bar. He had just assumed she'd gone to get a cab or found someone to hook up with. Those thoughts changed of course when he found her purse and phone unclaimed in a corner booth. Lucy had called it a dozen times out of worry and had sent about eighteen text messages. When she arrived at the bar she was nearly in tears, but now she was so angry that tears were the last thing anyone would see from her. "When was the last time you say her?" Lucy asked, staring at Loke with hope filled eyes.<p>

"It was almost midnight I think, she came up and started flirting. I went to help some customers when I came back she was gone," Loke explained and gave Lucy and apologetic look. He was worried about Levy, she was a whole five foot nothing and was barely over 100 pounds. She was so small someone could have tucked her into their pocket and walked out with her. What he really feared was if some creep had tried to have his way with her. According to one of the bouncers last night there was a couple lurking around. He couldn't tell Lucy that though, she'd probably tera the whole place down. "I don't know where she went Lucy, I honestly thought she'd gone home with one of you. Cause after Levy took off, I didn't see any of you. We were packed last night."

"I know, I know," Lucy admitted with a nod and sighed. Natsu and Gray were looking around for her two in the surrounding area. "Maybe Natsu and Gray found her." The blonde heard the bells on the door jingle and whipped around. Her hopeful smile that it was Levy faded as she saw Natsu and Gray walking in, looking defeated. That wasn't a good sign, they must have had no luck at all. Lucy was getting really worried now, Levy had trusted them to take care of her and yet they let her get drunk and lost.

"We looked up and down this block," Gray said as he hopped up onto a bar stool. "We couldn't find her and no one has seen her either." He shook his head and slouched forward on his elbows.

"What if something bad happened to her?" Lucy asked sadly, feeling her tears pricking her eyes. She looked to Natsu, who walked over to her and put his arms around her. He did his best to comfort her, and promised they would find her. "We were supposed to make sure she had a good time...and now...she's probably terrified and having the worst hangover ever." Lucy wrapped her arms around Natsu and rested her head against his chest as he stood beside her. He rubbed circles into her back and looked at Loke, who shrugged his shoulders.

"I'm sure she's fine," Loke said.

"Yeah, we'll find her," Gray agreed with a nod, patting Lucy's knee.

"Levy's small, but she's tough," Natsu assured Lucy as he let her go and gently wiped away her tears with his thumbs. "Maybe she's on her way back to the apartment, we should head back."

"Erza would have called," Lucy pointed out with a frown.

"Juvia said she was going to look around the neighborhood, maybe Erza is too," Gray replied, hoping it would keep Lucy from worrying too much. She had woken up at eight that morning to go to the bathroom, when she didn't see Levy she started to worry. For the past two hours, they'd been looking for her and had no leads on where she could have gone.

The bells on the door jingled again and everyone looked. Unfortunately it wasn't Levy, but it was Jellal. He didn't seem too excited though, it appeared he wasn't having much luck either. "I checked the police station and the emergency room, they haven't seen her." Jellal looked at Lucy, who appeared to be both relieved and worried at the same time. It was understandable though. If Levy wasn't at the hospital, then she was probably still in good health and if she wasn't at the police station then she probably had done anything stupid while drunk. In the end though, their petite blue haired friend was still missing and that was not good.

"How the heck do you even lose a person?" Lucy grumbled as she rubbed her temples. "I'm worried about her, what if she's like half dead in a ditch somewhere? What if she was raped? What if-"

"Lucy stop it," Natsu chided, trying to calm her down before she had a panic attack. "Don't think like that."

"Did you guys check the coffee shop down the road from your place?" Loke tried. Everyone knew that if Levy couldn't be found for hours on end she was probably there. She would be curled up on the couch in the back corner with a coffee in her hand and a nose buried in a book.

"Juvia checked," Gray said and shook his head. "They hadn't seen her today."

"She's gotta be somewhere," Loke said with a shake of his head. He turned around and started to brew a pot of coffee.

"How drunk was she when you last saw her, Loke?" Lucy asked. The bar owner turned around and sighed heavily. Truthfully, Levy was completely wasted and needed to get home. She could barely walk, she needed to go home and go to bed when he last saw her. Obviously that didn't happen, and he felt guilty for not making sure it did.

"She needed to go home," Loke replied truthfully. "She was pretty far gone."

"Oh god," Lucy groaned.

"Think positive," Natsu told his girlfriend. "Even drunk, Levy is smarter than most."

"Yeah, but she's like a bunny," Lucy retorted with a shake of her head. "She's so shy and timid, very rarely is she spontaneous and wild." The blonde bit her lip, and looked at the four men that were all staring at her.

"We'll find her," Jellal assured her with a soft smile.

"I just feel so bad, we promised her a good time and we lost her," Lucy sighed sadly with a shake of her head. Levy didn't even want to go from the start, but they convinced her. She got drunk, and now she was lost without her phone or purse. "I have to go look for her." Lucy hopped down from the bar stool and walked out of the bar.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>"I made pancakes," Wendy Marvell, a girl with indigo hair, chimed as she walked into the garage area of Gajeel's townhome. It was an old and rundown place, but Gajeel liked it just the way it was. Sure it was in the heart of the city and noisy, but it was all he knew. He never knew his parents, according to Social Services he was left abandoned in a dumpster near a hospital. His whole life, Gajeel had only known the system. All there was for him as a child was jumping from family to family, no one really caring. When he turned fifteen he took up boxing, and at eighteen he got himself a trainer and joined the world of Underground Boxing. While he was in the system, Gajeel met Wendy.<p>

"Okay," Gajeel said before sliding back under the rust bucket truck he was working on.

"Your friend is awake," Wendy added as she walked over to him and knelt down on the ground. "I heard her pacing. I think she's scared. Don't you think—"

"No, I don't think I should talk to her. I think you should give her some clean clothes, let her shower, feed her, and send her on her way." Gajeel continued to work, never stopping to look at her.

Wendy scrunched up her nose and shook her head. He never was the most personable guy, but he had saved that girl last night. He knew what happened, and he needed to talk to her. "Gajeel, come on, don't be an ass," Wendy scolded as she stood up. She put her hands on her small hips and kicked his boot covered foot. "You know what happened to her, and you need to tell her about it. I mean you brought her here!"

"Go away, Wendy," Gajeel snorted.

"Seriously!" Wendy hissed, kicking his boot again.

"I am not above kicking your ass out onto the street," Gajeel threatened, getting annoyed with her. At the end of the day, Gajeel loved Wendy. She was the little sister he never wanted, but got stuck with anyways. They met when she was seven years old, he was fourteen and sitting alone outside. He was watching the younger kids playing on the playground. They started bullying Wendy, and he came to her rescue. Since that day Wendy has always been by Gajeel's side. When he got out of the system and left the home, Wendy wrote him every day. Then one day, a week after her eighteenth birthday, she showed up on Gajeel's doorstep. That was about four months ago.

"You couldn't kick me out even if you wanted," Wendy muttered with an eye roll.

"Would you like to test that theory?" Gajeel inquired as he rolled out from under the truck. He stared at Wendy for a moment, who stuck her tongue out at him and walked back into the house. "That's what I thought." He pulled himself back under the truck and went back to work.

He knew Wendy had a point, but he didn't really want to talk to Levy. She was probably freaking out, which he wasn't good with. There was a good chance that she would cry and he really didn't want to deal with that. And he was positive she was having the world's worst hangover. They were doctor and patient, that was the extent of it. He did not need to come to her aid, last night was different. She could have been raped and beaten, he couldn't stand by and let that happen. Besides he didn't even realize it was her until after he rescued her. His job was done, he didn't need to rescue her anymore.

Wendy could do the morning after stuff. They didn't sleep together, in the sexual sense or in the literal sense of sleeping. He let her have his room and he slept on the couch. He gave her a clean shirt to wear, because she'd vomited all over her dress. Unfortunately she didn't have her phone on her or a purse, so he couldn't take her to her place, and he couldn't call a friend for her. He thought about calling the medical facility, but he didn't want to jeopardize her job. That left him with one option: bringing her to his home. His shoulder angel even scolded him for that one. He carried that little woman ten blocks to his townhome, held her hair as she threw up in his bathroom, and cleaned her up after words. He didn't need to do anything else for her, he'd done more than enough.

Gajeel sighed and shook his head. He kept trying to justify what he was doing, but it wasn't working too well. He blamed Wendy. She was the one who always made him second guess what he did or why he did it. It drove him crazy sometimes, but maybe it was for the best. When he was angry he simply attacked out of anger, he did things and said things he didn't really mean. The muscled man groaned and pushed himself from under the truck. He would just be casual when he went inside.

His red eyes drifted to the door as he cursed under his breath. He made his way over to the sink tucked away in the corner. As he washed his hands, he debated on how he should approach the whole situation. He didn't know Levy very well, but he did know she was high-strung. He could only imagine what crazy theories she was coming up with. Gajeel dried his hands and tossed the paper towel into the trash bin before looking back at the door. He wasn't a coward, so he took in a sharp breath and marched right inside.

"I knew you'd come," Wendy chuckled as he walked into the kitchen. "She's still upstairs, pacing away. Panicking…terrified…confused—"

"Stop it," Gajeel interrupted with a growl. "I'm not happy with you." He waved a finger in her direction, but Wendy only smiled cheekily and continued to set the table.

"Breakfast will be ready in five minutes," Wendy said as she put the plates down on the table. "Now go get your friend."

"She's not my friend," Gajeel explained to Wendy for the 100th time. "She's my doctor."

"Yeah, but if you say doctor, I think weird crazy pornos and that's just not okay," Wendy explained, shaking her head as images started to form in her mind. That was just not a way she wanted to picture Gajeel, who was basically her brother. "So go get your _friend _and we can all eat breakfast while explaining your heroic deed of saving the damsel in distress." Wendy beamed at Gajeel, who stared at her like she was crazy. Obviously she had been reading way too many romantic novels and their cliché storylines. Everything was a cliché though, so maybe it was a fair judgment.

"Keep your fairy tales to yourself," Gajeel snorted.

"You sure are extra grouchy today," Wendy chided as she started making some fresh squeezed orange juice.

Gajeel grunted and walked out of the kitchen. He entered the hallway that lead to the front portion of the townhome. There was a powder room across from the stairwell that led up to the second and third floor. In the front of the house was a small office area and across from it was a living room, which were separated by a small foyer leading to the front door. Through the window of the front door, the city street could be seen with cars parked all along the sidewalk. Gajeel looked up the stairs and sighed as he started up them. He still wasn't sure what he was going to say to Levy.

The moment he reached the second floor, he looked to his right where his room was and then to the left side where Wendy's room was. He debated if he should go grab some of Wendy's clothes for Levy. They were basically the same size, so she would fit. Gajeel assumed she'd feel more comfortable in complete attire rather than just one of his t-shirts. She'd probably want to take a shower too, so he probably needed to make sure the bathroom was presentable. Wendy was always complaining about his towel being left wet and on the floor. Oh, and his clothes too…his dirty clothes. One time she actually gathered it all up and threw it on him while he was sleeping.

He walked into Wendy's room and went into her closet grabbing the first articles of clothing he could find. As he exited he turned to his right and opened up the bathroom door. He poked his head inside and could see it looked presentable. Nodding, Gajeel opened up the linens closet behind him and placed a clean towel and Wendy's clothes on the counter of the sink. Now all he had to do was confront Levy, and he was strangely nervous about it. He had no idea why though, it was just Levy. She was half his size and hung over. What could she really do to him? He was a professional boxer and had saved her life last night.

Gajeel found himself standing in front of his bedroom door. He was debating if he should just walk in or knock. It was his room, so he shouldn't have to knock. Levy was inside though and it would be polite to knock. She probably would appreciate him being some kind of decent. Finally having enough, Gajeel rolled his eyes and knocked on the door before barging in.

"Eep!" Levy squeaked as she stumbled back when the door just came open. She tripped over some clothing and fall onto the bed. "Oh my goodness!" Levy shrieked as she quickly sat up and covered her exposed lower region.

"Sorry," Gajeel mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Should have waited for you to answer." He crossed his arms over his chest and stared down at her. She looked like a complete mess with her hair in a mess of tangles, her make-up smeared around her eyes, and his t-shirt appeared to be swallowing her whole. It was almost a laughable sight, but he'd show at least some kind of respect.

"Did we have sex? Did we fuck? Oh my god we did, didn't we?" Levy fired off so fast that Gajeel wasn't even sure if he heard her right.

"Did you just asked me if we 'fucked' last night?" Gajeel asked, trying to bite back his laugh. Levy was the size of a sixteen year old girl with small breast, hardly any ass, and curly blue hair. Hear the word 'fuck' come out of her mouth was bizarre. And what was even funnier was that her body seemed to reject her saying the word, because she twitched when she said it.

"Yeah," Levy muttered with a nod. "Did we fuck?" she asked, twitching at the word again.

"You shouldn't say that," Gajeel replied as he leaned against the door jamb. "Your body is literally rejecting that word." He mimicked her little twitch and chuckled lightly, making Levy narrow her eyes at him.

"I could lose my job!" Levy shouted, but quickly regretted it as the pain surged in her head. Groaning, Levy grabbed her head and laid back on the bed. "How did I even get here? Did you seduce me while I was in a drunken stupor? That's low, you know, lower than I figured you'd go. I mean if you hated me so much then you should have—"

"Shut up!" Gajeel snapped loudly, causing Levy to fall silent. "Now, I'm gonna try to be nice, because I understand your under a lot of pressure an stress. But you have to promise me you won't talk until I finish explaining what happened. Deal?" Gajeel asked as he pushed off the door jamb and walked over to the bed.

Levy sat up and looked up at him, and licked her lips. "Fine. What happened last night?"

Gajeel smiled at her and sat down on the bed beside her. His weight caused a minor dip in the bad, making Levy slide towards him a bit. She quickly pulled away and moved about a foot away from him. This entertained him a bit, she was really freaking out. Part of him wanted to mess with her, but he could also see she was beating herself up about it. It wasn't something to joke about either, Levy could have been seriously hurt last night. Gajeel leaned forward on his knees and clapped his hands together, causing Levy to flinch.

"We didn't have sex…or fuck, as you so eloquently put it," Gajeel said.

"Don't patronize me," Levy scolded.

"Wait did I say about talking?" Gajeel shot back hotly, causing Levy to scowl and roll her pretty brown eyes. "I'm being serious, we didn't sleep together."

Levy looked at him and sighed in relief when she found the honesty in his eyes. He nodded his head and clicked his tongue. "Good," Levy said softly with a nod of her head. That was the best news she'd heard in her whole life. If she really had slept with a patient it would have been the end of her medical career. "So what did happen?"

"This not talking thing isn't working for you is it?" he asked.

Levy narrowed her eyes at him.

"Anyways," Gajeel started again and cleared his throat. "I saw you outside of The Lion's Den. There was a guy trying to force himself on you...I stopped him. He was going to rape you." He slowly looked to Levy, who seemed at a loss for words. She couldn't remember any of that, all she remembered was going out with her friends and having too many drinks. Everything else was just blank.

"I...you...I mean, thank you," Levy said softly with a weak smile.

"You're welcome," Gajeel replied and stood up. "Look, let's just keep this casual. You are my doctor, you were in trouble. I saved you because you needed help. Let's just pretend it never happened." He stood up from the bed and looked down at Levy.

"You called me your doctor," Levy smiled.

"Well you are," Gajeel pointed out with a snicker.

"Not Shrimp, Half-Pint, or any other word that is a derivative to small or tiny?"

"Breakfast is ready, Dr. Pipsqueak." Gajeel smirked and walked out of the room, leaving the door open, and Levy scoffing on his bed.


	5. The Devil Inside

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone! Here is the next chapter, I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you all for the lovely comments you left on the last chapter, I'm trying to keep this story well paced and the characters as close as they would be in the anime. Be sure to leave a review, I'd really appreciate it!

* * *

><p><span><strong>The Devil Inside<strong>

It was surprising to Levy to find out that Gajeel had a roommate, the real surprising part was that anyone could stand to live with him. No, he wasn't a bad guy, but he seemed so moody. The even more surprising part was that his roommate was a young girl, well she was eighteen. Levy had all kinds of weird scenarios running through her mind as she listened to the two of them bicker like some old married couple. Actually, Gajeel only sad a few choice words while, Wendy was babbling along. Levy was almost positive Gajeel had completely zoned out, but that didn't stop Wendy from rambling. It might have been some sort of routine thing for them for all Levy knew. She was trying to find out if they were friends-with-benefits, but the further along the two talked the more she realized Wendy was merely his friend and roommate. What was even stranger, Levy felt relieved to know that. She shouldn't feel that way at all though, he was her patient, she was his doctor, the relationship had to remain strictly platonic.

"Levy? Are you okay?" Wendy asked as she sat down at the table after refilling her orange juice. "You've been really quiet. Do you feel alright?"

"She's hung over," Gajeel commented as he took a bite out of some bacon. "She feels like she's been hit by a bus." He chewed on his food and glanced at Levy, who just pressed her lips together in a tight line. Wendy looked at Gajeel for a moment before looking back to Levy. The blue haired girl sighed softly and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"I'm okay, really," Levy assured Wendy.

Wendy smiled at Levy and grabbed a small bowl that was filled with freshly made scrambled eggs. "You know what helps the hang over? Protein." She shoveled some eggs onto Levy's plate and dropped two strips of bacon onto her plate as well. "I have blueberry pancakes, regular pancakes, and Gajeel's favorite chocolate chip." Wendy gestured to the stacks of pancakes resting in the center of the round table.

"I'm really—"

"Shrimp, just eat, she'll force it down your throat if you don't," Gajeel stated firmly as he cut a part of his pancakes and shoved it into his mouth. He watched Levy as he chewed on his food. She looked at him too and then down to her full plate of food. It did smell great and it looked delicious. "Go on, it's not poison. We're eating it too, geez, when did you become a mute all of the sudden." In his defense, they had been down in the kitchen for twenty minutes and Levy had said all, but two words.

"Gajeel," Wendy scolded, pointing a fork at him. "Be nice, you just said she most likely isn't feeling well. I'm so sorry, he's usually not this grumpy." The indigo haired teen looked at Levy and smiled kindly, before turning her attention back to Gajeel. The man with the long dark hair shrugged his shoulders and continued eating.

Levy licked her lips and shook her head as she began to eat. "It's okay, I know he isn't all bad." She glanced at Gajeel, who had stopped mid chew to look at her. He swallowed his food and grabbed his glass of orange juice, never taking his eyes off Levy. When he finished his drink, he put the glass back down and continued to stare at Levy. She felt like she was some sort of zoo animal the way he was staring at her. "Why are you staring at me like I'm on display or something?" Levy asked before taking a bite out of some blueberry pancakes.

Gajeel shrugged his shoulders and stood up from the table. He gathered up the dirty dishes and went over to the kitchen sink to wash them.

"Don't feel self-conscious," Wendy chimed in, waving the matter off. "Gajeel eats like a horse, and you could stand to put on a little more weight. How can you be a physical therapist if you're like less than a hundred pounds?" She shoveled some food into her mouth and looked at Levy, who blinked a few times. Wendy didn't sensor anything, she just seemed to say whatever came to mind. Although, she was polite about it as opposed to Gajeel, who just slapped her with his questions and statements.

"I've always been small," Levy replied with a shrug of her shoulders. Ever since she was born she was just a tiny little thing. The other kids used to pick on her about it all the time. She'd never been taller than five foot unless she wore heels, she never weighed more than 110 ten pounds even if she ate a dozen doughnuts every day for breakfast.

Wendy nodded in understanding. "Were your parents small too?" she inquired, mostly to make small talk. Wendy just wanted Levy to feel comfortable, she seemed like such a nice girl. And Gajeel could use a nice girl in his life, he'd become such a recluse in the six years. She understood that he'd been through a lot, but she would hate to see him spiral even further down the drain than he'd already gone.

Levy cleared her throat and took a sip of her orange juice. Her parents weren't exactly a topic she cared to discuss, even to her friends. "Well, I uh, don't really know." It was the truth, Levy didn't remember her parents very well. Her memories of them were very vague and it was probably because she hadn't seen or heard of them or about them since she was four years old. The story was long and hard and she would rather never think about it, but it did come up sometimes. She had taught herself to handle the easy questions about it. "I haven't seen them since I was four years old."

Wendy apologized for bringing it up, but Levy shook her head assuring her it was fine. And it was okay, Wendy was just trying to have a conversation and people always asked her if being short ran in her family. For once she wish she could answer that question, but she never could bring herself to look up her parents. She wasn't even sure if they were still alive. Twenty years was a long time, a lot could have happened. A lot had happened to her in twenty years. Levy ran her fingers through her hair and sighed softly as she ate her food.

"I know how you feel," Wendy said softly.

Levy looked at her and tilted her head curiously. "What do you mean?"

"I haven't seen my parents in a long time too," Wendy admitted sadly. She poked at her food and looked back to Levy, who frowned. "I've been in and out of foster homes for as long as I could remember."

"Me too," Levy replied with a knowing nod. She knew what it was like to be in the system, to be moved from home to home. Never knowing if you would find a family that actually cared. "I was in the system too."

Gajeel turned around and leaned against the counter. His red eyes fell onto Levy, who glanced at him. She nodded her head and went back to eating her food. He never would have thought that the pipsqueak was an orphan like himself. Since she was a doctor of sorts, he assumed she grew up in a nice home with a nice family. Obviously he had much more to learn about that little woman. Maybe that's why she had some spunk to her, she lived the childhood of an orphan. She knew the horrors of being in the system, wishing you could live on the street before being shoved into another supposed loving family.

"Looks like we got more in common than I thought," Gajeel commented as he went to dry the plate and cup he had used. He placed them neatly back in the cupboard and walked over to the table, taking a seat. "Why don't you go shower and I'll take you home."

"It's fine. Don't trouble yourself, I'll just get there on my own," Levy said before taking another bite of blueberry pancakes. Just as she had predicted too they tasted wonderful, Wendy was quite a cook. Gajeel was lucky to have someone there for him, even though it was odd that she was eighteen and staying with a twenty-five year old boxer with a bum leg. She assumed they had met while they were in the system, Levy hadn't met anyone in the system who stayed her friend. It wasn't until she entered high school and met Lucy that she finally started to make friends. She wasn't that shy bookworm when Lucy pulled her out of her shell, and she was grateful for that. "Oh! Lucy, I forgot. Do you have my phone or purse?" Levy asked, looking to Gajeel.

"No," Gajeel replied, shaking his head. "When I found you, you didn't have anything."

"Oh god, she's probably having a panic attack," Levy said, looking at the clock on the wall. It was almost eleven o'clock. She intended to make Lucy worry, but she didn't intend to make her worry for this long.

"Wait, wait," Gajeel interjected. "You mean to tell me you were with friends last night and they let you wander off when you were so fucking plastered you didn't know which way was up or down?"

"That's so eloquently put, Gajeel," Levy snorted. "And…well, yes."

"Let them worry then," Gajeel commented, which made Levy's mouth fall open. "Had I not been there you'd be raped and humiliated and who knows what else. Let them worry, if they were your friends they would have been watching you." He stood up from the table and walked out of the kitchen quickly heading towards the garage.

When the door slammed shut, Levy blinked and turned to Wendy for an explanation. She never realized that Gajeel cared so much, or that he was so compassionate in the first place. It was kind of nice, in a very strange and scary kind of way. Levy thought it was nice to know someone cared that much, not that Lucy and the rest of her friend's didn't, but sometimes it didn't always show. They all had their own lives, but Levy had to admit Gajeel was right. They should have been keeping an eye on her. It was a known fact that Levy could not handle her liquor and she was extremely friendly when she was drunk. That was warning enough that she needed to be watched at all times.

"Gajeel feels strongly about certain things," Wendy explained. "He's been through a lot, so some things really trigger his anger issues."

"Anger issues?" Levy repeated, earning a nod from Wendy. "And what has he been through exactly? I mean, aside from the whole being in the system and leg thing."

"How much do you know about how he got that injury, Levy?" Wendy asked, suddenly becoming more serious.

Levy shook her head. "I only know it was because of a car wreck, not much else. They're very private about it all, and that makes me realize that I shouldn't be asking you. I'm sorry." Her headache was getting to her, making her ask and say things she shouldn't. She quickly stood up and carried her plate over to the sink to wash it and dry it.

"No, it's fine," Wendy assured her as she got up to clean her own plate. "I just think you should ask Gajeel. I know he's rough around the edges and cranky and a complete ass most of the time, but he really is a great guy."

"Really?" Levy asked skeptically.

Both girls started laughing. "He has the potential to be a great guy," Wendy corrected herself, which made Levy smile. She could see it, she really could. Gajeel had come to her rescue, he let her stay in his home, and he was trying to be nice. That was a big step for him, she could tell. "I think, if you let him. He'll be a good friend to you, maybe more." She shrugged her shoulders and looked at Levy, who seemed taken aback by her words.

"Maybe more? He's my patient," Levy pointed out as she dried off the plate and put it in the cupboard where Gajeel had placed his.

"I know, but I think he likes you," Wendy admitted, causing Levy to turn away and blush lightly. There was no one Gajeel could like her and if he did, he had a funny way of showing it. They'd had two sessions together and breakfast, each of those meetings he'd been cold and distant. And rude! He had called her by her name like once or twice and one was because he was skeptical about who she said she was.

"Well only time will tell," Levy chirped, clapping her hands together.

"Give him a chance," Wendy said with a smile. "He'll surprise you, he always does."

Levy looked at Wendy and nodded slowly. "I'll try," she assured her, seeing that it was obviously important to her. "So where's your shower? I should really clean up and get home before Lucy and the rest of my friend's send in a search and rescue team."

"You can use mine or Gajeel's phone too—"

"No, that's alright," Levy declined with a shake of her head. "Gajeel's right, let them worry." She winked, and Wendy started to giggle before showing her up to the bathroom. When they got upstairs, Wendy told Levy to use whatever she needed and spotted the clothes and towel on the counter. A small smile tugged at her lips, knowing Gajeel was the one who put it there.

"Just come down when you're done, Gajeel's gonna be working on that truck all day if you don't have him take you home. So please, let him take you home. He needs to socialize before he gets admitted to a psych ward." Wendy stepped out of the bathroom and looked at Levy, who seemed a bit unsure of what to say or think.

"I see," Levy managed to get out.

Wendy stifled a laugh and waved it off. "It's okay, you can freak out. Gajeel is closer to that truck in the garage than he is to anything else. He wasn't always like that though, and I think you two being friends could really help him." She smiled at Levy before grabbing the knob on the door.

"No pressure," Levy muttered with a laugh.

"Sorry," Wendy said quickly. "I'm making him seem like a lunatic, but he isn't. He's…he's just lonely."

Levy leaned against the bathroom counter and looked at Wendy. "What happened to him, Wendy?"

"Ask him yourself, if he tells you," Wendy paused and started pulling the door shut, "he trusts you," she concluded right when the door shut. Levy was left in the bathroom with her mouth hanging open and a million questions stewing in her brain. She was a champion of over thinking, which was not good for her headache.

For the time being Levy needed to focus on showering, getting over to Loke's to find her things, and then go home to reprimand her friends for letting her get almost raped by some jerk wad in an alley. If it wasn't for Gajeel, she'd probably still be in that alley way. She could see what Wendy meant, when it came down to it, Gajeel did have some decency within him. Levy turned the water on in the shower and waited for it to heat up while peeling the clothes from her body. When she dropped the shirt onto the floor, she swallowed hard. No panties, no bra, just complete exposed.

"Did he take my clothes off?" Levy wondered as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes widened when she realized her raccoon eyes from smudged eyeliner and mascara. "Ugh…I look disgusting," Levy muttered. She couldn't believe she just had breakfast with her patient and his friend looking the way she did. Then again, he did find her drunk last night, so maybe it was a step up. She started to wonder what happened to her clothes again.

Steam started to fill the room so Levy hopped into the shower. Instantly she started to feel better. Her stomach wasn't upset, her headache was calming down, and her hair didn't feel greasy. Her fingers scrunched up her hair, allowing it to soak up the warm water. A smile came onto her face and she let out a sigh of relief. In that moment she started swaying under the shower head, feeling herself wanting to sing. Levy always sang in the shower, especially when she was feeling really good. With that warm water relaxing her muscles, the fresh smell of lavender from the body wash, and that delicious breakfast settling her stomach, Levy felt amazing.

"_You look so perfect standing there in my American Apparel underwear and I know now, that I'm so down_," Levy sang to herself as she lathered the shampoo into her blue hair. "_Your lipstick stain is a work of art I got your name tattooed in an arrow heart and I know now, that I'm so down!_" She spun around under the water, nearly slipping and thankfully managed to catch herself. Chuckling, Levy continued to hum the rest of the song as she rinsed the shampoo out of her hair.

After a few more minutes of standing under the water, Levy finally shut it off. She reached around the shower curtain for the towel and patted herself dry. When she stepped out of the shower, Levy wrapped the towel around her body. She approached the foggy mirror and wiped it away so she could see herself. Nodding, Levy felt a lot better and looked decent with her make-up washed away and her hair clean. She looked at the clothes sitting on the counter and picked them up.

"Shrimp? You drown in there?" Gajeel asked, knocking on the door.

Levy squeaked and looked to the door. "No," she replied with a shake of her head, not that he could see. "What do you want?"

"That's not a very nice way to speak to the person who saved your life," Gajeel retorted from the other side of the door. Levy rolled her eyes, he was never going to let that go. She had now given him more ammo to use. Even if she returned the debt she owed, Gajeel would never let her live it down. "Last night, we washed your…well black lacy thong and matching bra."

Levy's face went red, redder than a tomato picked fresh off the vine. Her heart started pounding hard against her chest, her breathing shallow, and her hands started to feel clammy. Levy flung the door open and looked at Gajeel. He stood in the middle of the hallway, shirtless with his jeans hanging –sexily—lowly on his hips. Her mouth began to water, she could feel herself about to drown in her own drool. His V-cut was impeccable, he could have been a model with those chiseled abs, smooth chest, and well defined biceps and triceps. She had seen his arms before, but seeing him shirtless with his dark wash jeans hanging off his hips was another picture all together. A better picture.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer," Gajeel told her with a smug smirk.

Levy's face went from a blank stare to an angry scowl. She saw that he was holding out her bra and panties, and quickly snatched them from his hands. "You're horrible!" she barked feistily.

"Hey, I saved you from being raped, carried you ten blocks to my place, held your hair back as you puked your guts out, let you sleep in my bed, gave your breakfast, let you use my shower, and washed your underwear," Gajeel listed. "I think I'm pretty damn awesome." He winked at her and clicked his tongue as he made his way down the hall to his room.

"Wait a minute!" Levy called out as she marched down the hall, holding her underwear in her small hands. "Did you undress me? Did you see me naked?"

Gajeel was standing in front of his dresser, digging for some clean clothes to wear. Levy watched his shoulder muscles and the curve of his spine as he dug around in his drawer. It was ridiculous how attractive she found him. He was this tall, muscled man with a long dark mane and piercing on his face and arms. If he was described to her by someone else, she'd be afraid of him especially at the mention of red eyes. As she was standing there, looking at him—in his half-naked glory—she found him desirably attractive.

"It's not like you got anything good," Gajeel commented as he found a shirt and turned around. He slipped the shirt over his body and looked at Levy, who was glaring at him. If looks could kill he'd be way dead. "Sorry, that was rude."

"Just answer the question!" Levy snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"This is a whole other side to you, Dr. Pipsqueak," Gajeel said as she sat on the edge of his bed. "I can see the street kid in you."

"Gajeel, please," Levy huffed, throwing her hands in the air.

Gajeel looked at Levy and closed his eyes, looking away from her. "Well, I hadn't," he glanced at her. "You might want to…" he trailed off and gestured to her figure. Levy furrowed her brows and glanced down at herself.

She screamed upon realizing her towel had fallen from her body, leaving her completely exposed. Quickly, Levy snatched up the towel and covered her body. She was breathing hard as she realized she'd just allowed her patient to see her. Her face had gone red once again and she thought she was going to die from the embarrassment.

"Why don't you go put some clothes on," Gajeel said as he stood up from the bed. He walked towards her, towering over her petite frame. "I'll be down stairs, Pip." He smiled weakly and walked around her.

Levy let out a breath and slowly turned around, watching Gajeel head down the stairs. She swallowed hard and ran her fingers through her hair. Now he had even more ammo against her, today was just not looking good. Although, she had to give him credit, he didn't tease her just now. A small smile came onto her face and she shook her head.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>Fifteen minutes later, Levy came down stairs after giving herself a pep-talk and getting dressed. She told herself that everything was going to be okay, so what if her patient saw her naked. He had also witnessed her puke her guts out. Her self-esteem had already hit rock bottom, there was no reason to keep thinking about it. She would just go down stairs and see what Gajeel would do. Hopefully he was some kind of decent and wouldn't bring it up ever again. Knowing who he was though, she highly doubted it.<p>

"You okay?" Wendy asked when she saw Levy standing in the threshold of the kitchen and hallway.

Levy sighed and nodded her head. "Thanks for letting me borrow your clothes." She gestured to the light blue tank top and black shorts she was currently wearing. They actually fit just right, Wendy was probably an inch taller than Levy, but they were both slender and lean. "I think I should head home now."

Wendy nodded her head and held up a plastic bag. "I put her heels and dress in here." She handed the bag to Levy. "You can borrow my flip-flops." She pointed to the flip flops that were by the door leading into the garage.

"Thanks, I promise I'll bring it all back," Levy assured her as she walked over to the door, slipping her bare feet into the flip flops. She ran her fingers through her blue curls and smiled at Wendy. "Tell Gajeel, I said thanks for saving me and everything. I'll see him at our next session."

"Oh, he's waiting for your outside," Wendy said, and Levy's eyes widened in surprise. "He's gonna take you home, believe me. He's going to make you right up to your door. It's one of his redeeming qualities," Wendy chuckled.

"You guys have done enough, seriously I can get myself home," Levy assured Wendy.

"It's not me you have to convince," Wendy replied with a smile. "It's that tall, hard-headed jerk wad out there named Gajeel." She turned on the stove and grabbed a kettle, so she could make some tea.

"I won't be able to convince him, will I?" Levy asked before she pulled the door open.

"Nope," Wendy smiled and laughed lightly when Levy rolled her eyes. "Don't be a stranger okay, come hang out sometime." It appeared that Levy had managed to make a new friend, so she smiled at Wendy and nodded. She seemed like a nice girl and she made awesome pancakes, Levy wasn't about to pass up a chance to see what she could cook for dinner or lunch. Waving goodbye, Levy pulled the door open and stepped out into the garage.

Parked in the middle of the rather sizeable garage was a single cab truck that appeared to be from the early nineties or possibly late eighties. It looked like it was being repaired since it was missing one tire and was raised up on a jack. Levy's brown eyes studied the truck closely, it looked like it had just undergone a new paint job.

"You ready, Pip?" Gajeel inquired as he came from around the other side of the truck, spinning a wrench around in his hand. Levy looked at him and stared at him for a moment with a raised brow. "What?" he asked as he put the wrench down on the wooden work bench that was beautifully organized. She'd never seen a garage so clean and immaculate before. It was very impressive, almost as impressive as her home library that she and Lucy had created. Everything was orderly and not one thing was out of place.

"Are you working on this truck?" Levy asked, looking to the truck and then back to Gajeel. He glanced over his shoulder at the dark green truck and nodded his head. "You're into cars and stuff?" she asked with a small smile as she approached the truck, looking at the shiny surface.

"Not really," Gajeel answered with a shake of his head.

Levy raised a brow. "Then why are you fixing it?"

"I need too," he told her.

"So you can drive it around and all, but if you aren't really into repairing it why not take it to a shop?" Levy asked as she walked around the truck, admiring the handy work on it. Gajeel may not have liked repairing vehicles, but he seemed to have a knack for it. "I mean it looks great."

"Thanks, but I'm repairing it myself for other reasons," Gajeel explained to her. Levy looked up at him, slightly confused. "It's not to drive it."

"Care to explain?" she asked.

Gajeel shook his head. "No," he said flatly, causing Levy to roll her eyes. She thought she might actually get somewhere with him, apparently not. "Come on, your friends are probably worried."

"I thought you said let them worry," Levy smirked as she approached him. She stopped a step in front of him and gaze up into his red eyes. He looked down at her and chuckled lightly. "You saw me naked, you can at least try to be nice."

"Not about this," Gajeel stated as he nodded towards the truck. "This is something that you and I will never discuss. However if you would like to take about your below average breast size, I'd be happy to give you my two cents." He wiggled his pierced brows at her, causing her to blush. That blush quickly faded though as she playfully pushed him away and stomped off towards the driveway leading to the main road.

"You're very difficult, you know that," Levy said as she turned around while standing in the middle of his driveway. Gajeel snickered and leaned back against the nose of the truck, resting his elbows on the hood. "I know I'm young and small and fresh out of college and all these other things, but you don't have to keep teasing me about it. We might have a lot in common."

Gajeel stared at Levy as she stood in front of him. He had to admit, she was trying hard to win over his approval. And if he was being honest, she had already managed to get it. He found it attractive that she stuck up for herself and was confident in what she did. Last night might have not been one of her shining moments, but she seemed to have bounced back. That could have been because she didn't remember the severity of it though. Gajeel was surprised to find that she too had been in the system, so she did know what it was like to be in and out of foster homes. He probably was one of the worst cases though, he had an average of four foster homes each year. Levy seemed like a sweet girl, she probably didn't get moved around much at all.

"Maybe we do," Gajeel finally spoke up. "I just don't get along with people."

"I can tell," Levy retorted, causing Gajeel to snort. "Okay, one step at a time. We can be friends, you know."

"You're my doctor, I'm your patient," Gajeel said as he pushed off of the truck and started walking to her. When he was in front of her, he looked down and smiled weakly. "Let's keep it that way."

He was a complete shut-in. Levy was a little bothered by it. She wanted to know more about him, she wanted to know about Wendy, the truck, his career, the accident, and why he was the way he was. Perhaps she didn't need to know those things, but she felt like it would help when it came to his therapy sessions. Until he was healed mentally and emotionally, physically would never fully recover.

"You seem to be walking better," Levy pointed out as she looked down at his injured leg. "It's a long walk back to my place, you sure you can make it?"

Gajeel laughed. "Pip, I walk everywhere." He clapped her on the shoulder, his hand practically engulfing it. "Let's go." He started walking, and Levy turned on her heels following after him. One step for him was like two for her. While he was just walking, she felt like she was jogging. Gajeel noticed this rather quickly though and slowed his pace a bit.

"Wendy seems nice, did you meet her while you were in the system?" Levy asked, hoping to keep the awkward silences away.

Gajeel nodded his head, but kept looking straight ahead as they walked down the street side by side. It was a quite Sunday afternoon, not many people were out and about and the weather was very brisk. Fall was just around the corner and Levy was very excited about that. She loved the autumn weather where all the leaves changed colors, the weather got cooler, and the cozy sweaters and scarves. In her mind, autumn was one of the best times of the year. She loved those rainy days spent on the couch with her nose buried in a book and a coffee by her side. Just thinking about it made her relax.

"So how did it happen? How did you two meet?" Levy pressed, seeing if he would share at least a little of his personal life. This was something that was dark and depressing, meeting Wendy seemed like a positive thing for him.

Gajeel sighed and looked at Levy for a second before looking back at the road before them. "She was being bullied at one of the homes we were at. I stepped in and well she's been my shadow ever since."

"So rescuing damsels in distress is kind of your thing then?" Levy asked with a small, yet genuine smile. Gajeel smiled back, but it quickly faded and he shrugged his shoulders. "I saw some pictures in your room, one with Wendy and one with another man."

"My coach," Gajeel answered, knowing exactly where she was going. "We haven't spoken in a while though."

"Since your injury?" Levy inquired.

"Yeah," Gajeel replied with a single nod. "And no I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, how about boxing? What made you get into it?" Levy asked, hoping that he would at least talk about that. He did it as a career, surely there were a few things he could tell her about it.

"I've always liked it. It was a way to get some anger out," Gajeel explained. "I had a lot of issues when I was younger, my coach suggested taking up some sort of activity. Boxing turned out to be it, had a knack for it and then next thing you know I end up in the Underground." He shrugged his shoulders and looked at Levy, who smiled at him.

"We're making progress," she teased, and Gajeel rolled his eyes. "My friend tells me you were the best."

"I was in the top three for most of my career," Gajeel said, sounding a little proud about it. Levy chuckled and told him that he could brag if he wanted too. "Then this happened, and everything sort of fell apart." He gestured to his leg and the look in his eyes appeared to be sad and angry. Levy wanted to know why, but she knew that he wouldn't tell her at least not yet. It was like there was some sort of darkness inside of him that was just looming over him.

"But you want to go back, right?" Levy asked.

"Still depends on you," Gajeel replied.

"I'm gonna get you there," Levy said. "Boxing was your thing, it made you feel whole. Suppressed all the bad feelings from those years in the system. Controlled all those devils inside." She put a hand on his arm in a comforting manner and smiled at him.

"Yeah, that's exactly it," Gajeel agreed. Levy surprised him in that moment, she wasn't being a doctor to him. She was simply being a friend and understanding what boxing meant to him. That girl hit the nail right on the head, boxing completed him and gave him a purpose. For the past seven months, Gajeel felt like that purpose had been lost and all the devils inside where getting out of control. Perhaps Levy would be the saving grace he had been needing.

"Well, I'm in it if you are," Levy assured him with a wink.

"Oh, I'm in," Gajeel said to her with a chuckle.


	6. Star Struck!

**Author's Note:** Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it! Please forgive me for grammar/spelling errors.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Star Struck!<span>**

They had been walking for a long time and having a little small talk. Nothing too intense, and every passing minute Gajeel seemed to be a little friendlier. Levy looked at him through the corner of her eye and bit her lip. She hated to admit it, but he was beginning to grow on her. He didn't seem like that much of a jerk anymore, maybe it was because he had saved her last night. Wendy was right about him though, he was a little rough around the edges. Levy was sure she could polish him up though.

"You don't seem like most kids that were in the system," Gajeel spoke up, finally breaking the ten minute silence that had come over them. Levy looked at him and shrugged her shoulders. She was a good kid, hardly ever got moved around. When she was thirteen though, she was a bit of a brat. She came around when she turned fifteen though. "You were one of those goody-goodies weren't you?" he asked with a chuckle. How could he really think any different with someone so tiny? As if she could be any kind of vicious.

"I was a bit of a brat for a little while, but really I was mostly a mute," Levy opened up, in hope that Gajeel would maybe open up himself. She really felt that if he was open and not bottling everything in, his injuries physical and mentally would heal. "Most people didn't like that I never spoke, then when I turned thirteen I started mouthing off and when I turned fifteen, I met Lucy and things started getting better." She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and chuckled a bit. The day she met Lucy everything changed in her life, for once things started looking up.

"You were a mute?" Gajeel repeated with a hint of intrigue. The few times he had spent with Levy she seemed like a friendly social butterfly. He couldn't picture her just being silent all the time.

Levy nodded her head in response and clasped her hands behind her back. "According to my therapist at the time it was because I was traumatized."

"About what?" Gajeel inquired, finding her story rather interesting. There was more to this girl than he thought.

"Uh, my parents," Levy answered with a nod. She didn't have it easy growing up, her parents were hardly around and even when they were they didn't interact with her much. If there was one constant in her life it was her books. She didn't think her parents were bad people, they just weren't the parenting type. Some people just weren't meant to be parents. It made her sad when she was younger, she believed her parents didn't want her. She thought she wasn't good enough for them. As she got older though, she realized it had nothing at all to do with her.

"What happened to them?" Gajeel asked.

"They died," Levy answered truthfully.

Gajeel was going to press the matter, but he could see by the sadness in her eyes it wasn't something she wanted to discuss. And since he wasn't really sharing much either, he felt it wouldn't be right to pry. They weren't really friends, so it wasn't much of his business. He had to admit though, Levy was really catching his interest. That was a big deal to him as well, because it wasn't like he made friends easily. Gajeel could use some friends too other than Wendy. Her little dramas drove him crazy sometimes.

"I'm sorry," Gajeel said, not knowing what else to say. He was never good at these kind of things.

Levy looked up at Gajeel and smiled weakly. "It's in the past. No need to dig up those skeletons." She shook her head and took in a deep breath.

"I know how you feel," Gajeel chimed in. Wendy always tried to get him to open up or call up his coach again. He didn't want to though, the fact of the matter was he felt like a failure. His leg would probably never be the same again, and going back into the ring wouldn't bring _him _back. Wendy and Gajeel had argued about it several times, sometimes he really wanted to throw her out. The only reason he didn't was because she was the only person he had. And somewhere deep down he did love Wendy.

"So aside from Wendy, do you have any other friends?" Levy asked.

"No," Gajeel replied quickly. "She's all I got, which is the only reason I keep her around. Over all though, she's not bad at all. She's a good kid, and she takes care of me in her own weird way." He shrugged his shoulders and Levy giggled.

"I like her," Levy told him.

He rolled his eyes. "Well yeah, you're a chick." In his past experience girls stuck together through everything, they searched for companionship with anyone and everyone. Men weren't like that, well most men weren't. Most of the time men sought out companionship for the duration of a night.

"What does me being a 'chick' have to do with anything?" Levy inquired with a raised brow. "Dudes can like her too."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Gajeel grumbled. If there was one thing he knew about Wendy, it was her choice in men was horrific. He'd witness her have her heart broken four times and he tried to warn her each time. After her latest heartbreak, Gajeel had put it upon himself to interrogate any guy she brought around. He didn't want to deal with the tears, comfort food, and then the complaining and rage issues.

"Look at you all protective," Levy teased, nudging him with her elbow.

"She's all I got, I'm not going to let some sex-driven dickhead take advantage of innocent little Wendy," Gajeel retorted.

"She's probably not a virgin anymore, you might want to make sure she's using condoms or birth control," Levy said. "After all about 62% of all girls in Magnolia lose their virginity by the time they've left high school, which is slightly higher than the national average." She waved her finger in a matter of fact sort of way.

"Thank you for ruining my day," Gajeel said with a scrunched up nose. "That was a little fact you could have kept to yourself."

Levy laughed. "Sorry, just thought you'd like to know."

Gajeel snorted. "Yeah, so are we getting any closer to your place?"

Levy stopped for a moment. She looked around and realized they had passed her street by three or so blocks. "Uh, we passed it."

"You passed it," Gajeel pointed out. "I have no idea where you live, so I'm following your lead." The blue haired woman beside him rolled her eyes. She thought they were having a nice walk with casual conversation, she didn't think he minded so much. Maybe the last topic ruined it for him.

"Sorry," Levy replied as she stood a little straighter, not that it helped much in the height department. Gajeel was a tower compared to her small stature. "It's just two streets back, so you can go do whatever it was you were going to do." She waved him off, but Gajeel shook his head and pursed his lips.

"First I'm gonna tell your friends how crappy they are for letting someone so small wander off while drunk out of their fucking mind, then I'll go about my business." He turned around and started for Levy's street, while she remained at the corner of the current one with her mouth open. She didn't really believe he was going to do anything other than take her home.

"I wasn't that drunk," Levy commented, causing Gajeel to sputter.

"Pip you spent half the night puking your guts out in my bathroom," Gajeel said. "You were so far gone I could have raped you if I wanted too, and you probably wouldn't even remember. Your friends may have been lousy by not watching your puny behind, but let's be honest here you shouldn't have thrown so many back. So perhaps you should reconsider that statement of not being '_that'_ drunk, because honestly you were fucking wasted and you know it." He pointed at her in accusing manner, his tone was harsh. It actually made Levy stiffen, no one had been so hard on her before. And really he wasn't even being mean, he was just being honest about it in a vulgar kind of way.

"So are you being a dick now because you suddenly care about me or because you just need someone to push around?" Levy said, showing a hint of her disappointment in how he just spoke to her.

Gajeel sighed heavily and looked down at the ground.

"Levy!" Lucy's voice ripped through the quiet street. Gajeel turned to see a blonde standing on the other side of the street. "Levy! Oh my god! You're okay!" The blonde darted across the street, right passed Gajeel and captured Levy in a bone-crushing kind of hug. Levy laughed lightly as her blonde friend clung onto her tightly. Her brown eyes went back to Gajeel, watching his lips form a tight line and his red eyes looked away from her.

"Hi Lucy, not so tight please," Levy laughed lightly once more as she patted her friend on the back. "I'm okay, I promise."

Lucy let Levy go and examined her for a moment before sighing in relief. "We were so worried! Where the hell did you go? I called your cell a hundred times only to find out you left it at Loke's! Then we searched the entire neighborhood and still nothing! Where did you go? I was so scared that you'd gotten raped or kidnapped or killed!"

Gajeel crossed his arms over his chest as he watched the two. He was biting his tongue, he didn't exactly what to yell at some skinny blonde in the middle of a street. People would probably think he was harassing them. Truthfully though, Gajeel didn't care. Levy could have been seriously hurt last night because her friends weren't there for her. And he knew Levy was too much a wimp to tell her friends that, which was why he was going to do it for her. He'd be damned if he'd let it happen again. Levy probably thought this little scare of being missing for a night was enough, but Gajeel knew better. Girls like Levy would still trust their stupid friends and do it all over again.

"Well I wasn't," Levy said as she smiled at Lucy, who pulled her into another tight hug. "And I'm fine, a little hung over but I'm fine." She glanced over at Gajeel, who seemed to be waiting for her to tell her friend the truth. He was giving her the chance to do it nicely before he ripped Lucy a new one. It confused Levy that he cared so much, he really had no reason too. They weren't friends and they didn't owe each other anything. She would understand him being upset about it, but to want to confront her friends about it was drastic in her mind. Everything worked out in the end, there was no need to punish her friends with the gruesome details of her almost being raped by some drunk asshole in an alley.

"You're sure?" Lucy asked, grasping her friend's shoulders tightly. "I'm sorry that we lost you in there. It was so crowded and I lost track of time and was drunk myself and before I knew it we got home and you weren't there."

"I know, it's okay really," Levy lied. It wasn't really okay, they had promised they'd watch over her. "I mean, you should have been there for me like you said you would be. And you weren't so I am mad about that, but I know it wasn't intentional."

Gajeel scoffed. "Oh please, Pipsqueak!"

Lucy blinked a few times and turned around. "Who the hell are you?"

"Gajeel don't, please," Levy sighed.

"Gajeel? As in your patient, Gajeel? The asshole?" Lucy questioned as she turned back to her friend with wide eyes.

"Lucy!" Levy hissed as she looked at Gajeel, who rolled his eyes. "I was passed out in and alley, Gajeel found me and took me to his place." The blonde's jaw fell open at Levy's explanation, while Gajeel scoffed again and shook his head.

"You were passed out in an alley? Oh my goodness, Levy are you sure you're okay?" Lucy asked, sounding worried and guilty. Levy knew that Lucy would beat herself up about the whole thing forever if Gajeel told Lucy the complete truth. "I'm so sorry this is all my fault."

"No—"

"Tell her what really happened, Pip, before I do," Gajeel said, gaining both of the girl's attention.

"What?" Lucy questioned with furrowed brows. Her brown eyes were on Gajeel, who nodded and looked at Levy pointedly. "What really happened, Levy? Tell me." Lucy looked back at her friend, demanding that she be told the whole truth.

Levy pressed her lips together in a firm line. "Gajeel saved me last night from a drunk guy trying to rape me."

Lucy's face paled and her mouth fell open. She shook her head and slowly looked back to Gajeel, who smiled weakly. "Are you serious?"

"As a heart attack," Gajeel chirped.

Lucy narrowed her eyes at him and looked back at Levy, who shrugged her shoulders. "He didn't get the chance, Gajeel saved me. He and his friend, Wendy, took care of me. So let's just put this behind us."

"Hell no!" Gajeel barked, causing both girls to jump a bit from his loud voice. "Listen, blondie, your friend here could have been seriously injured last night. She could have even died, because your blonde bimbo head couldn't—"

"Gajeel! Enough!" Levy interjected. "You don't have to be so rude about it. Trust me, Lucy gets it."

Gajeel stared at Levy for a moment before agreeing to it. The blue haired girl thanked him and looked back at Lucy, who was frowning with tears in her eyes. She was trying her hardest to bite them back, but it didn't work. The tears started to roll down her cheeks as the guilt and fear waved over her.

"Don't cry, Luce, everything worked out." Levy rubbed her friend's back in a comforting manner. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Your friend's right," Lucy muttered. "Even though he was an ass about it, he's right." She looked at Gajeel, who nodded his head.

"Levy!" Natsu called out from behind them. The three standing in the middle of the sidewalk all turned as the pink haired man came running towards them. He smiled when he saw Levy and gave her a hug, saying he was glad she was okay. That smile faded though when he saw that Lucy was crying. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Levy was almost raped last night," Lucy replied quietly, and Natsu's eyes widened in shock. He almost didn't believe what he was hearing. His charcoal colored eyes drifted to Levy, who smiled weakly and promised she was perfectly alright all thanks to Gajeel. At the mention of the ex-Boxer's name, Natsu's ears perked up. "Yeah, he saved her." Lucy turned to look at Gajeel as he stood a few steps away with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Gajeel Redfox!" Natsu beamed as he walked over to the tall, burly, pierced man. He was completely star struck, and had all but forgotten about his crying girlfriend and nearly raped friend. "I'm a huge fan! When Levy told me she was your doctor, I was shocked! I mean, you are a legend in the world of Underground Boxing. This is so cool! I can't believe I'm meeting you and you're friends with my friend."

"We're not friends," Levy and Gajeel said at the exact same time.

Natsu looked at Levy and then back to Gajeel. "Oh," he said softly and cleared his throat. "Well…uh, okay then." He licked his lips and stepped away from Gajeel.

"You can go now, Gajeel. I'm perfectly alright and my friends can get me home from here. Thanks for your help," Levy said to him with a weak smile, but she never made eye contact with him.

Gajeel nodded stiffly, his eyes on Levy. He watched her closely, almost as if he didn't want to leave. That look quickly faded though as he turned on his heels and walked away without so much as a word. He disappeared around a street corner, and Levy finally looked up.

"Let's go home," Levy said to her two friends. "I'll explain everything. Don't worry about Gajeel, he's not a people person."

Natsu looked at the direction that Gajeel had taken off too. "Did you see the way he looked at you, Levy?"

"What do you mean? He wasn't looking at me in any particular way." She shrugged her shoulder and looked at Natsu and Lucy, who both exchanged looks. Apparently whatever Natsu had seen, Lucy had also seen and agreed with. "There was no look," Levy tried to persuade them, but it wasn't working in her favor at all.

"He's digging you, Levy, trust me," Natsu teased as he nudged Levy with his elbow.

"Yeah, and he saved you too," Lucy pointed out as she wiped away her final tears. "He's into you."

Levy blinked a few times. "Whatever, can we just go home now please?"

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>Levy walked into the training room. Her brown eyes glanced around for Gajeel, but she didn't see him sitting on the bench like he normally did. His bag was on the bench though along with his brace for his leg. It had been two days since he had taken her home and they had that little event on the sidewalk. Lucy and Natsu had poked and prodded her for the rest of the afternoon about what happened. They both had it in their minds that Gajeel was into her, but Levy didn't see it. He was a jerk, he'd proven that much. She had no idea why her friends would even care. They should want her to find someone pleasant and smart like a closet poet or jazz musician not some ex-Boxer with a bum leg and shitty attitude. The couple was relentless though, saying that Gajeel obviously cared since he saved her, took care of her, and brought her home. And Levy could agree with that, but behind the fake kindness was a legitimate asshole.<p>

At first, Levy thought that Gajeel might have a redeemable side. She wasn't so sure after he snapped at her and then at Lucy. It might have been fair and called for, but Levy didn't want someone so gruff and rough. She wanted someone polished and poised, and Gajeel wasn't that at all. The past two days, Levy had been mulling over what to do for this session. Did she just pretend it never happened? That was probably the best option for both of them. She was surprised that he even showed up at all. When Levy heard the sound of splashing water, her eyes widened and she looked over to the pool. It wasn't a deep pool, nor very big, but it was obviously big enough for Gajeel to hide himself in.

Levy squeaked when Gajeel stood in the pool with his back to her. His long, dark thick hair was slicked down his back. He rolled his shoulders, causing his back muscles to flex. Levy watched quietly, since it didn't appear that he knew of her presence. The beads of water slowly rolled down his back over his smooth skin. She watched closely, feeling her heart pounding against her chest. The butterflies went wild in her stomach, her cheeks flushed a pale pink, and her mouth parted slightly. The water swished around him as he walked over to the ladder to get out of the pool. His arm muscles stretched and flexed as he grabbed the silver railing and pulled himself up.

Water dripped from his beautifully chiseled form. He was lean, mean, and plain handsome. There was this dangerous aura about him, but it was so enticing at the same time. Levy couldn't help, but feel consumed by him. When Gajeel turned around, Levy swallowed hard as his red eyes locked with hers. She bit her lip and looked away from him, placing her backpack down on the bench. Her eyes slowly gazed back over to Gajeel, who was still staring at her. Levy noticed the towel that was neatly folded by Gajeel's belongings. She grabbed the towel and made her way over to Gajeel. Her eyes drifted to his black colored trucks that hung loosely on his narrow him. She had seen him half-naked way too much in the past week, but she had to admit he looked delicious.

When they were a step apart, Levy held the towel out to him. Gajeel glanced down at the white fluffy towel in her hand. His eyes slowly moved up her slender bare neck to her plump pink lips. She had her hair up in a messy bun, she was dressed in tight black yoga shorts with orange legs warmers and white tennis shoes. Her top was a gray tank top that hugged tightly to her body while she wore an orange shirt that hung loosely off of one shoulder. He took the towel from her, but tossed it aside. Levy glanced over at the towel, but kept most of her attention on Gajeel.

The distance between them closed. Gajeel's body loomed over Levy's but she remained in place. Her brown eyes traced the sexy contours of his abs and chest until she finally reached his pierced face. The look had actually been growing on her, at first she thought it was odd, but now it had some appeal. Levy licked her lips nervously as Gajeel's hot breath brushed over her skin. Her knees were starting to buckle, and just when Levy thought she was going to melt, Gajeel grabbed her hips firmly in his warm calloused hands and pulled her against his rock hard body.

She gasped at the sudden power of Gajeel pulling her against him. It was unexpected, but she liked it. A small smile came onto her lips as Gajeel looked at her with this ravenous hunger. No man, not even her past boyfriends, had looked at her they was he was at the moment. His hand slowly ran up the side of her body until it was tangled in her blue hair. She moaned slightly as Gajeel gently pulled her head back by her hair.

"Gajeel," she breathed as his lips hovered over hers. "What are you doing?"

He met her pretty brown eyes and smiled devilishly. Levy felt her heart skip a beat when his lips pressed onto hers. Instead of pushing him away or resisting, Levy found herself wanting more. She pushed herself onto her toes, wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, and moaned as Gajeel grabbed the back of her legs and lifted her up effortlessly. His tongue brushed against her lips, and Levy opened her mouth. Gajeel carried Levy over to the wall with the wooden railing and placed her on it for a little support. She bit at his lower lip, causing Gajeel to growl lowly from deep within his throat.

He pulled away from Levy and caressed her face in his hands. Levy stared into his eyes, completely breathless. He sure could kiss, she had never been kissed like that before. It was the kiss of a life time. Gajeel reached for her orange shirt and easily pulled it off. He stood in between her legs that were squeezing his waist for extra support. Her hands went for his shoulders, and he leaned forward, kissing and suckling at her neck. She clawed at his back at the euphoria that was washing over her body. The touch of his hand, the smoothness of his kiss, the wetness of his tongue had her completely electrified. He was like a drug, and she wanted so much more…

Beep…Beep…Beep…

Beep…Beep…Beep…

Levy's eyes snapped open and she shot up in her bed. Her heart was pounding hard against her chest, and she could feel her lower regions throbbing. Levy swallowed hard and ran her fingers through her hair. That was the most vivid and ridiculous dream she had ever experienced.

"Hey!" Lucy knocked on her door, causing Levy to pull the covers up to her chin. "You're going to be late! It's already ten, isn't your session with Gajeel at 10:30 this morning?"

"I'm up, don't worry," Levy croaked.

"Okay, and don't let him get to you," Lucy chimed as she walked away.

"Too late," Levy muttered as she fell back against her bed.


	7. Fighting Means You Care

**Author's Note:** Hello my lovely readers! Here's the next chapter, it's kind of heavy compared to the other chapters. I would love to see your thoughts, be sure to review and please forgive me for spelling/grammatical errors! Also I have a poll on my profile page for which Fairy Tail pairing my next one-shot should feature, go check it out and vote! Until next time, thanks for reading!

* * *

><p><strong><span>Fighting Means You Care<span>**

The fourth session was quiet. Neither one of them really spoke to each other. Levy demonstrated a few things, she asked a few questions, and that was that. The hour and a half session went by torturously slow though. It wasn't really Levy's fault though, it was Gajeel's. He could admit that. She was friendly and was trying to keep thing mutual after their strange weekend together. He was giving her the cold shoulder and not really speaking. In fact, most of his responses were non-committal grunts or snorts. Levy chided him for it, saying she just wanted to put what happened behind them. Gajeel wanted to also, he honestly did, but for some reason he couldn't do it. He was just so upset with her, even though it wasn't really any of his business. If she wanted to drink and party, get drunk off her ass nearly raped and beaten in an alley, and not give her friend's hell about it, then so be it. That was just a hard pill for him to swallow. He knew she was just a nice person, but that's what would land her in a world of hurt.

He thought after his session, he would have a peaceful time at home. Unfortunately for him, Wendy was home as well. She got home a couple of hours early, claiming that it was slow at the restaurant. Normally, Gajeel wouldn't mind having Wendy home early, but today he just wanted to be alone. With Wendy there, even if he locked himself in his room, she would try to talk to him and meddle into his business. Sometimes he believed it was Wendy's favorite pastime. If he would tell her to go away, she would leave for ten minutes and come back with even more inane questions. Sure, it was just because she was worried about him, but she didn't need to worry. No one needed to worry about him, he was a loner and he liked it that way. He just had the misfortunate of making people care for him, when he really wished they wouldn't.

"How did the session go? Was Levy feeling alright?" Wendy asked with a smile as she looked up at Gajeel. He had just walked in after having stood outside for ten minutes trying to mentally prepare himself for Wendy. There was this feeling in his gut telling him that she was going to try and play matchmaker. That was another one of her favorite pastimes, and she didn't get to do it often. Wendy relished in playing matchmaker for him, she'd attempted to get him with three girls she worked with at the restaurant. Gajeel could never fathom why though, he was bitter and mean and crude, no girl wanted someone like that. They would want some polished, well-mannered, with no baggage.

Gajeel shrugged his shoulders and kicked off his shoes, pushing them towards the wall near the door. The teenager before him frowned and leaned against the wall. Her hair was damp, so he assumed she had just gotten out of the shower. Whenever Wendy had to help prep in the morning, she would always come home smelling like a garbage can from all the food. She hated it and was counting down the days to work anywhere, but there. Gajeel didn't see it happening though since she wouldn't go to college. That was just a fight he got tired of having. For the first two months every day like clockwork, they'd fight about her going to school. He was sure it wasn't simply about money, they could work around that if they needed too.

Wendy sighed and shook her head. "Come on, are you still all bitter about your disagreement from the weekend?" she asked him as she pushed off the wall.

Gajeel looked at Wendy for a moment and shrugged his shoulders again. She scowled and threw her hands up in the air. He didn't stick around long enough for her to ask another question. When he got to the kitchen, he was going to make himself a quick bite to eat then he was going to shower and take a nap. He knew Wendy would bother him the whole time too. When he such the refrigerator door, he glanced to his left where Wendy was standing, staring up at him expectantly. He rolled his red eyes and turned around to the small kitchen island and laid out the desire food for his sandwich.

"Well, I think you need to get out of the bitter barn and come play in the hay," Wendy said, causing Gajeel to snort. "She's nice, you need some nice in your life."

He held his tongue, because if he started talking she would never stop. Of course, all he really wanted to say was 'shut up' and possibly 'go away', maybe even in a harsher way. That would most likely egg her on though, if Gajeel got snippy with Wendy, she just threw it right back at him. In a way, Gajeel found it to be a good thing, because he knew Wendy would always be able to handle herself. Though he sometimes worried her mouth could get her into trouble. She'd proven to be a good girl so far though, no black marks on her ledger, except for being friends with someone like himself. He was bad news for someone as innocent and sweet as Wendy, even though they'd been friends for years.

"Okay, well if you aren't going to talk about Levy," Wendy began as she leaned on the other side of the kitchen island, "I have a date tonight."

Gajeel stopped slicing the tomato on the cutting board for a moment and looked at Wendy. She smiled happily at him and nodded her head. He blinked a few times and went back to slicing up the tomato before he started asking questions. That would lead to another argument they had several times before too. Her poor taste in men was quite pathetic, she always went for the losers with no prospects and no goals. She knew better than that, hell she deserved better than that.

"He's coming to pick me up here at six," she informed Gajeel, who only nodded slightly. "I want you to meet him."

He put the knife he was using down and took in a sharp breath. She wanted him to meet this guy? Had he suddenly become her father? Or maybe they were about to get serious. Gajeel put a few slices of meat onto his sandwich followed by some lettuce, cheese, and finally the top slice of bread. He went over to the pantry and grabbed some potato chips and started munching down.

"Gajeel?" Wendy pressed. She really expected him to say something about it, disagree, question, agree, something.

He took a bite out of his sandwich and stared at Wendy as he ate. Silence was his only option, he didn't have the energy to fight or argue. Deep down though, Gajeel was curious about this guy. Wendy always picked losers, and he doubted this one would be any different. In a month's time she'd probably be sobbing and moping around the house cursing the guy's name at two in the morning.

"Are you really not gonna say anything?" she asked, crossing her arms over her small chest.

He nodded simply and continued eating his food. Just a few more bites and he would be finished. His mouth was a little dry, so he ventured to the kitchen to get something to drink. Grabbing a soda can, Gajeel popped it open and took a few large gulps.

Wendy rolled her eyes. "You know him actually, or well you've seen him a few times."

Gajeel glanced at Wendy. He started thinking of all the people they both knew. The odds were it was some whack job because everyone he knew had issues. And those issues had issues. Against his better judgment of asking and intervening, Gajeel just ate his sandwich. There was no time for drama, he had enough baggage in his life and he didn't want more.

"He's an older guy," Wendy added, seeing if she could get a rise out of him.

Gajeel chewed.

"Twenty-seven years old," she chimed.

He choked on his drink, and Wendy smirked. There was no way he could let that one go. If her soon-to-be boyfriend was twenty-seven and she was eighteen, which meant they were nine years apart in age. Sure that didn't seem too bad, but Wendy was eighteen!

"He was a boxer like you too," Wendy mentioned.

Gajeel's stomach churned. Not only was this guy way older than Wendy, he was a boxer too.

"This is going to be our fourth date," Wendy said happily. "I think we're going to make it official."

Gajeel's mouth slowly fell open. They had been on three dates already, how could he have missed that? It was suddenly becoming very difficult to not talk to her. He didn't even know if he wanted to yell at her, or just ask tons of questions.

"Maybe...you know, go to his place again." She shrugged her shoulders.

His eyes went wide. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, it speaks," Wendy chortled. "I'm eighteen."

"So?" Gajeel barked.

"So I can make my own decisions," Wendy pointed out, which made Gajeel snicker. "He's twenty-seven, he's healthy, handsome, well-mannered, and accomplished. You should be proud of me for finding a guy like him."

"If he's so damn great why can't he find a woman his own age?" Gajeel asked with a raised brow. "I mean, that's nine years difference Wendy. You should be going to school and making something of yourself. Not tying yourself down to someone who's gonna wanna have kids in the next year or two."

"He's a good guy!" Wendy hissed. "A nice guy, who's been nothing but polite to me."

"Yeah to fuck you! And I'm not allowing that." Gajeel shook his head and put his dirty dishes into the sink. When he turned back around, Wendy's nose was scrunched up and she looked livid.

"You don't get to make that decision! I'm eighteen and you are not my legal guardian!" Wendy pointed at him in an accusing manner and scowled.

"If you're living here, you'll abide by my rules," Gajeel growled lowly. Wendy could see that he wasn't joking around either, he was being completely serious. She respected that, but he needed to respect her decisions. Yes, this guy was twenty-seven and she was eighteen, but he was a good guy. A nice guy with a sense of responsibility and he was well off. He was nothing like the other guys she hated dated. He was a man, everyone before him were just little boys.

"Seriously?" Wendy asked in disbelief. "He's a man, Gajeel. A good one at that."

"That doesn't mean anything, Wendy!" Gajeel snapped, slamming his fist down on the counter. The teenager before him flinched, shocked that he was so angry about it. She knew he'd get pissed and disapprove, but she didn't expect him to get like this. In all her years of knowing Gajeel, he had never snapped at her like that. He'd got snippy with her, but never in a threatening like manner. His red eyes were burning with a fire that raged like the pits of hell. That was when Wendy pieced it all together, it wasn't simply that Wendy was going to date someone older, it was because of what it would represent.

She sighed softly and rubbed her temples. "What's the matter with you?"

Gajeel narrowed his eyes at her. "I think I should be asking you that."

"I know that fighting means that you care," Wendy told him as her arms fell to her side. "When are you going to forgive yourself?" she asked softly.

Gajeel furrowed his brows. "The hell are you talking about?"

She tilted her head. "You know what."

"This isn't about me, Wendy. This is about you and going after things you shouldn't be going after." He waved a finger at her like a parent would to their young child. The teen snorted and shook her head. It wasn't about her, it was all about him. "You need to go to school. You need to get a better life than this." He gestured to the rundown kitchen they were standing in. The place itself wasn't really that bad at all, it was merely old and needed a facelift. Nothing a paint job and spring cleaning couldn't fix.

"I can't go to school right now," Wendy told him.

"Don't give me that shit," Gajeel grumbled with a shake of his head. "You can go to school, you're just choosing not to for some reason."

"The reason is you!" she shouted, throwing her hands into the air.

Gajeel looked taken aback by her words. "What do I have to do with this?"

"Everything," Wendy answered harshly, causing Gajeel to frown. "When your accident happened nearly seven months ago...you shut everyone out. You became cold and distant, you stopped talking to me and Lily. Then you just started shutting down, I came here because I was worried about you. You're the closest thing I have to family, and I wanted to be there for you. You deserve to be happy, Gajeel. You don't have to push people away. You deserve nice things, what happened that night-"

"Shut-up!" Gajeel growled, startling Wendy. "You have no idea what I'm going through, so don't act like you do."

"I would if you would just tell me," Wendy said. She was biting back her tears. Gajeel was like her brother, she loved him dearly. Seeing him the way he was, the shell of a person she used to know hurt her. All Wendy wanted was for Gajeel to forgive himself for the past and be happy. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like that was going to happen. "Lily has called every day since the accident, not once have you called him back. All you do is beat yourself up over something that wasn't even your fault. Please don't do this!" Wendy begged.

Gajeel had enough.

"It doesn't have to be this way," Wendy said with a weak smile, hoping to relieve some of the tension that had grown in the room. It was so suffocating, Wendy could feel the weight crushing her chest. "Don't do it anymore, Gajeel."

He shook his head and started to walk out of the room.

"Gajeel-"

"Enough!" Gajeel slammed his palms down on the table, his face red from his boiling blood, and the veins in his neck bulged. He wasn't just upset or mad, he was furious and that fury glowed in his red eyes. They were like a weapon, burning into Wendy's, causing her to fall silent. The word anger, didn't cover him at all, he was at a whole new level. "It is my fault."

Wendy was about to speak, but Gajeel told her to be quiet.

"Don't you dare tell me that this isn't my fault." Gajeel shook his head with a feral scowl etched on his face.

"So what Gajeel, are you going to push everyone out for the rest of your life? You aren't going to find a nice girl, live a happy life like you deserve?" Wendy asked, her tears welling in her eyes.

"Stop it!" Gajeel fumed, gripping the counter's edge tightly. "It should have been me!" He jerked his thumb into his chest.

"Don't say that!" Wendy hissed.

"You know it's true! It should have been me." Gajeel heart was racing, his blood pulsing through his veins like a drum line.

"You have to forgive yourself," Wendy told him again.

"Forgive myself?" Gajeel asked, his voice cracking a bit. "How the fuck am I supposed to forgive myself for this? Huh? Tell me, Wendy! How am I supposed to fucking forgive myself?"

Wendy opened her mouth and tried to speak, but no words came out only tears rolled down her flushed cheeks.

"Rogue's dead because of me!" Gajeel shouted and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him.

Wendy finally took in a breath and dropped to her knees. She had never been yelled at like that before by anyone. Her heart felt crushed. It was in that moment that Wendy realized that Gajeel was under a lot more stress and depression than they had initially thought. Digging in her pocket, Wendy pulled out her phone and quickly dialed Pantherlily's number. She couldn't do this alone anymore, she was going to need help.

On the third ring, Lily answered. "Wendy? Is everything okay?" he asked.

"I...I can't do this...I need...help. Gajeel...he's worse off than we thought," Wendy said through a few sobs as she scooted towards the cabinets. She rested her back against them and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I'm worried, Lily."

"Okay, stay calm. What happened?" Lily asked with a deep concern evident in his voice.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>Levy sat on the couch in the living room. Gray and Natsu had gone to the gym just a little while ago, while Lucy had to go to work. This meant that Levy had the apartment all to herself for the rest of the afternoon. Needless to say, she was happy about that. The last thing she wanted was for her friend to probe her about her session with Gajeel that took place an hour ago. She ran her fingers through her slightly curled hair and pulled her laptop onto her lap. The session with Gajeel had been rather tense, they barely said a word to each other in the two hours they were forced to spend with each other. It crossed her mind to Google how to fix that, but maybe it was better if they were on a strict business relationship. They didn't need to be buddy-buddy, they just needed to be civil.<p>

She was his doctor, not his girlfriend, not his friend, just his doctor. That meant everything needed to be monotonous and platonic between them. She could do that, Gajeel obviously didn't like her much anyways. They only had a few more sessions to go anyways. Approximately eight more sessions and she could write him off like he never happened. Sixteen hours with Gajeel, eight more weeks, she could do that. The tension was bound to die down eventually, it couldn't really carry on the way it did. Levy sighed sadly, she knew she'd be unlucky and it would be bad. They wouldn't really talk, the silence would be deafening, his stare would paralyze her, and eventually she'd crack. And when she did they would fight, she'd get fired, get her and Lucy kicked out of the apartment cause they couldn't afford rent, only to then lose her best friend, and sadly be all alone living on a park bench.

That was going to be her tragic story. Her head fell between her shoulders in a moment of depression and sadness. It was awful how just one patient could ruin everything for her. Lifting her head, Levy went to the Google search engine. She had to leave it up to the Gods of Fate.

"Virtual Magic Eight Ball," Levy said as she typed the words in.

She clicked on the first link to pop up. It was a simple looking website with an eight ball in the center of the screen and an area to type in her question.

"Will Gajeel and I become friends?" Levy asked aloud as she typed.

A few moments later the response came onto the screen reading, "Really hazy, try again."

"You're tell me," Levy muttered with a sputter. "Will Gajeel get me fired?"

She bit her lip as the answer loaded onto her screen saying, "It is decidedly so."

Her shoulders dropped, and she scowled. "What do you know? You're just a bot!" She stuck her tongue out at the screen. Exiting out of the website, Levy returned to the Goggle search engine. Her manicured nails drummed on the keyboard as she stared at the blinking cursor in the search bar. "Gajeel Redfox." She hit the enter key and waited to see what it brought up.

The third link caught her eye as it appeared on her screen: Underground Boxer Gajeel Redfox in tragic car accident. Levy stared at the link for a moment before swallowing hard and clicking on it. As the new page opened up, Levy saw a picture of Gajeel sitting in a locker room. The caption below read that Gajeel had just been rated as the number one Underground Boxer in Magnolia earlier in the week. She smiled and went to read the article.

_On May 17, 2014 at 11:48pm, Underground Boxer Gajeel Redfox and a passenger were in a tragic car crash on Magnolia Turnpike, in which Redfox's vehicle collided with another vehicle and spun into a concrete barricade._

_ Magnolia's Police Department, Officer Macao Conbolt said the following morning that the causes behind the accident were still being investigated. He reported that Redfox and the passenger were heading to a party to celebrate Redfox's fourth consecutive year of being Magnolia's number one Underground Boxing Champion._

_ Based on the wreckage of the scene, Redfox appears not to be at fault for the three car pileup on the entrance ramp. Everyone on the scene was immediately rushed to Magnolia's Mercy Hospital. At the current time, two people involved in the crash have been reported to have died upon arrival to the hospital while Redfox and the other two people remain in critical condition._

_ Coach Pantherlily, who has trained Redfox, 25, since he was sixteen stated a few hours after the accident, "They were coming to celebrate one of the biggest accomplishments in Gajeel's life, something that he was proud of and prided himself in, and now he'll never forgive himself."_

_ Further information on the accident has yet to be reported, but friends and fans of Redfox have already been sending their prayers and best wishes to Gajeel on his Facebook and Twitter pages._

At the bottom of the article were two images that appeared to have been taken at the scene of the crash. She zoomed in on the pictures and gasped upon seeing the black pick-up truck in a mangled heap. It was the same truck that Gajeel had in his garage that he was fixing up. Levy shook her head and went to look at the next picture, which revealed an SUV that had been rolled onto its side and a silver car with the nose smashed to pieces. Yellow caution tape went around the scene and cop cars and road flares were alight on that summer night.

She closed out of the article and ran her hands through her hair. Two people were announced dead upon arrival, Levy had a strong feeling one of those people was the passenger in Gajeel's truck. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he blamed himself for what happened to the passenger. It looked like they had just been unlucky, there was nothing said that anyone had been drunk. Levy was forced to believe it was just a freak accident.

"This is awful," Levy sighed as she closed her laptop and placed it onto the coffee table. Knowing that two people had died as a result of the accident, made Levy understand Gajeel a little bit better. She knew that if someone had died in a crash of a vehicle she was driving, she'd probably never be able to forgive herself. At the same time though, she also knew that time would heal those wounds.

"Oh you're here," Erza said as she and Jellal came in through the front door.

Levy smiled and waved at them as she got onto her feet. "Where have you two been?"

"We went to look at floral arrangements and decorations for the reception and we went to taste some cakes," Erza replied, holding up five containers that appeared to being holding taste samples of the cakes. "And while doing that it makes me realize how badly I miss Magnolia and wish we could live here." She looked at Jellal, who laughed lightly and closed the front door.

"I'm just glad you guys are getting married here. Destination weddings are so expensive," Levy pointed out.

"Technically, this is a destination wedding for us," Jellal chimed.

"This place is home though," Erza said to Jellal as she put the containers down on the table. "We have to get married here. Try the cakes Levy, tell us which your favorite is." The redhead went into the kitchen to get some forks and handed one to Levy while placing the rest on the table.

"How did the session go today?" Jellal asked as he pulled out a chair and took a seat.

"Well," Levy began as she was opening the containers. "It went…well."

"You sound unsure," Erza commented as she sat down across from Jellal, her eyes fixed on Levy. They could see the exhaustion on her face as well as a slight tinge of sadness. "Did something happen?"

"No," Levy assured them. Nothing had happened, it was just an awkward session since neither one of them could seem to just openly talk to each other. "He's just very hard to read and he's so distant."

"Well didn't he have a rough childhood? Not to mention the trauma he experienced back in May," Jellal pointed out.

"You heard about it too?" Levy asked in surprise. She hadn't realized that Jellal was into the whole Underground Boxing stuff like Natsu was.

"I saw a few reports about it," Jellal shrugged his shoulders. "It was a big deal, two people died in the crash, and I think they took another off of life support."

"That's so sad," Erza muttered softly, shaking her head.

"A third person?" Levy repeated with sadness.

"Yeah, I think it was the passenger in Gajeel's vehicle." Jellal nodded his head, and Levy frowned. "It happened three days later. That had to be unbearable for Gajeel, I think the passenger was his best friend or something like that."

"I don't know what to do," Levy said as she went to take a bite out of some red velvet cake with a cream cheese frosting. "How do you handle someone who's been in such a traumatic event?"

"You just be there friend," Erza replied with a kind smile. "Even if he pushes you away, just be his friend."

"I can't do that, I'm his doctor," Levy stated.

"Sure you can," Jellal told her. "Just be there for him, that's what friends are for. Before you know it, he'll trust you."

Levy looked at the two of them and sighed. She felt like they were trying to get her to date him. That wasn't the case obviously, but she didn't know how to be around Gajeel anymore. Maybe ignorance was bliss, maybe she shouldn't have gone digging for information. Though, she did feel good knowing that it wasn't her personally. Life had made Gajeel the way he was, it would require patience and trust for him to open up.

"Okay," Levy agreed. "I'll try."

"Besides what Natsu said, he's into you," Jellal added in.

Levy's cheek flushed red. "Seriously!" she squeaked.

Erza and Jellal both started laughing as Levy turned as red as a tomato before them. It was cute to see Levy all flustered, especially since she had avoided men for such a long time after her terrible fallout with Droy.

"It's a good thing Levy," Erza beamed.

"He's my patient, our relationship must remain strictly platonic," Levy stated firmly.

"Hey," Erza put her hand on Levy's shoulder. "Just because things were nothing short of catastrophic with Droy, doesn't mean every relationship after that is going to be the same way."

"He's my patient!" Levy exclaimed, laughing slightly.

"So what, that makes it more exciting," Jellal commented, wiggling his brows a bit.

"Oh gross! You're thinking of it in some pornographic matter!" Levy scolded with a roll of her eyes. "Erza what do you let him watch?"

Erza chuckled. "Naughty nurse and sexy patient, I can see it," the redhead teased, making Levy blush even more than she already was.

"You two are incorrigible." Levy got up from the table and marched off too her room, only two hear them cackling like two crazed hyenas, they were never going to let it go. She was in for the long haul all of them were going to keep teasing her about it. On some level though, Levy had to admit it was kind of nice knowing someone might actually like her. Levy fell back gently against her bedroom door and bit her lip, trying to keep her smile hidden.

Maybe something could come of it?

"Ugh! No, Levy, stop it," she scolded herself.

Gajeel was broken and a patient. She knew better than that, but at the same time she saw that Gajeel was a good person. It was probably the whole bad boy vibe that was getting to her, but at the same time he was good for her. Every girl wanted that? That didn't make her crazy, it made her a girl.

Levy plopped face first onto her bed. What was she getting herself into? Her first patient was supposed to be easy. Instead it was a ticking time bomb. If she was being honest with herself, she did like Gajeel. He was hardheaded and crass and stubborn, but she could see he was also gentle. It was like a modern version of Beauty and the Beast.

The real question was: would they live happily ever after?


	8. Talking to the Moon

**Author's Note:** Hey everyone! Thanks for your lovely feedback, I truly appreciate the words of encouragement! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and the next chapter is going to be filled with Levy and Gajeel goodness! But first you must endure the drama! See y'all next chapter!

* * *

><p><span><strong>Talking to the Moon<strong>

It was seven in the evening. The sun was gone, the sky a blood red about to be consumed by the shadows of the night. Stars began to glitter in the sapphire sky and the moon started to glow. Being as that it was a Monday night, things were slow around town. Most people were sitting on their front porch, talking with family, or throwing a few back. There were still a few children playing in the small yards of the houses in downtown Magnolia, lazy dogs were snoozing under large oak trees, and soon all would fall silent.

Gajeel stopped in front of a yellow house with white trimmings and a dark colored roof. There was a large oak tree in the front with a tire swing tied to a thick branch. Just behind the tree inside the walls of the yellow house was a family. They appeared happy to him as they were all gathering at the dinner table. Smiles on their face, chatting about their days, their normal lives with maybe a hint of drama and romance. There was a father, a mother, and two teens all appearing to be happy with the way their lives were. Gajeel remembered that once he wished to have a life much like the one he was watching. Unfortunately, he was always on the outside looking in.

He continued on his way. Life had already dealt him his card, he had to make the best of that. Sometimes it wasn't that bad, but lately his whole world had crumbled around him. Every time he thought he was finally getting it back on track, it fell apart again. He was tired of it, he just wanted to put it all behind him. His world kept shattering like it actually enjoyed it. No matter how hard he tried, the past kept haunting him. Gajeel had been on top, he was a well-known boxer, he was making good money, had friends, and everything seemed right. That was how it went though, right? It was a law that what goes up must come down, he unfortunately was on the down portion. All he wanted to know was when he would finally reach the bottom.

Several hours had flown by since his fight with Wendy. He knew that he might have taken it too far, but she brought back the one thing he was trying to bury. She knew how he felt about everything had had happened all those months ago. For once he was finally forgetting the pain, or at least he had learned to ignore it. Wendy ripped the bandage off though and exposed it, pouring salt onto the wound. Maybe it wasn't that bad, she was just trying to get him to forgive himself. How do you forgive yourself though? When you are the reason your best friend, your brother, your rock, died. Gajeel didn't know how to forgive himself, and he thought it was because he shouldn't forgive himself.

Rogue was gone, and he wasn't ever coming back. Sometimes Gajeel had nightmares about the night of the accident. He genuinely believed that his legs still hurt because Rogue was mad at him. And he had every right to be. Gajeel didn't even go to the funeral, and it wasn't because he wasn't able too, he just couldn't bring himself to go. After a month had past, he finally summed up the courage to do it and he cried and cried and cried before Rogue's gravestone. The last thing Gajeel ever said to Rogue was, "I did it for you, I'm in this mess because of you."

Then just like that, the truck was slammed into the concrete barricade that lined the entrance ramp. Gajeel was lucky, he had managed to get by mostly unscathed with a broken leg, a couple of broken ribs, and a concussion. As for his friend, Rogue, he wasn't so lucky. He still remembered trying to fight the paramedics off, trying to get to Rogue. Gajeel had called out to Rogue, but he never got a response. They were rushed to the hospital, and after Gajeel got out of surgery he woke up with Wendy sleeping in a chair and Pantherlily, standing by the window. Everyday, Gajeel could still hear Pantherlily telling him that Rogue was brain dead and the only thing keeping him alive were machines.

"The Rogue we all knew is gone now," Pantherlily said softly and turned to look at Gajeel, who only stared up at the ceiling tiles. "Gajeel, you need to say goodbye."

He didn't say goodbye though, he didn't even go into the room. All he did was sit in a wheel chair outside of the room, staring at Rogue, hooked up to a dozen machines. Gajeel was afraid to say goodbye, he couldn't say goodbye. Rogue was the closet thing he hand to family, and now he was gone. Wendy and Pantherlily were family too, but he'd known Rogue the longest. Without Rogue, everything just fell out of place.

Gajeel stopped in front of a cemetery entrance. The place where they put Rogue. He never really understood the point of people coming to a grave. Wendy told him it was because it gave people comfort, but Gajeel never found much comfort in talking to a fancy rock. It just wasn't the same as talking to the actual person. He walked down the main path and found himself heading straight for Rogue's grave. The last stone under a beautiful cherry blossom tree, that was Rogue's final resting place. Gajeel stopped a few steps away from Rogue's grave and noticed a bouquet of white roses lying on it.

"Wendy," Gajeel muttered as he continued to the grave and knelt down before it. He let his fingers gently brush against the silky smooth petals. As far as he knew both Wendy and Lily came to Rogue's grave once a week. That was the least he could say for himself, this was the second time Gajeel had come to Rogue's grave. "I'm not good at this sentimental stuff, but you know that don't you, Rogue?" he asked with a small laugh as he sat down, staring at the headstone where Rogue's name had been etched in.

Gajeel shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. Rogue was probably somewhere on the other side laughing at him. He could just picture him, looking all smug and laughing. Rogue always laughed at Gajeel, but not to be mean, just because Gajeel was not good with emotions aside from anger.

"I miss you, man," Gajeel said softly, looking up at the moon. "And I'm so sorry. It wasn't your fault, I never should have said that." He shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Gajeel," a voice came from behind him.

It was a voice he didn't want to hear either.

"It's been a while," the person added with a small laugh. "How have you been?"

Gajeel licked his lips and stood up from his place on the ground. He dusted off his shorts and turned to look at the unwanted visitor. "What are you doing here, Porla?" It came out cold and harsh, but that's exactly how Gajeel wanted it to sound.

Jose Porla chuckled. "I came to pay my respects, of course."

"Get the fuck out of here," Gajeel snarled. "You aren't welcome."

Jose Porla snorted and rolled his green eyes. Jose was a a tall, slim man with long black hair that fell to his shoulders. His mustache was theatrical in a since, being thing and a dark red color, which matched his evil arched looking eyebrows. He had a long face with sharp features and pointy ears, which revealed him to be the demon that he really was. Gajeel wished he'd never had the displeasure of meeting Porla when he was thirteen years old. If he could turn back the hands of time and erase his meeting with Jose Porla, he would.

"Listen, Gajeel, I'll leave when you pay me back," Jose explained with a simple shrug. "I have been understanding the past seven months, but I'm done being understanding. You owe me money, I suggest you start paying me. Or I will do what I do best." Jose smiled and clasped his hands behind his back.

"Go ahead," Gajeel growled. "I got nothing left. You can't hurt me anymore."

Jose chortled. "Are you sure about that?" he asked as he pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. Gajeel's eyes widened when he saw a recording of Wendy going into a restaurant with some man. "Wendy sure has grown up, she'd be a good candidate for-"

"Don't you dare! Leave her alone, don't even think about touching her!" Gajeel grabbed a hold of Jose's shirt collar and jerked him forward. "I'm serious Porla, don't you dare touch a hair on her head."

Jose shoved Gajeel away and fixed up his clothes. "Temper, temper," Jose chided, waving a finger at him. "And then there's the newest one."

"What?" Gajeel snapped, narrowing his eyes at Jose.

The man lifted up his phone. "Dr. Levy McGarden, she's a pretty one Gajeel. But I didn't think she was your type."

Gajeel clenched his fist and in one swift motion, punched Jose with a mean right hook. Jose felt the sharp, stinging pain, and the heat raising at the point of impact. He didn't think Gajeel was such a lose cannon, especially when it came to a girl he hardly knew. Jose remained down on one knee, and chuckled as he used his thumb to wipe the small trickle of blood coming from his now busted lip.

Gajeel looked to his left and right. "Boze, Totomaru," he growled as he looked at Porla's body guards with their guns trained on him.

"Stand down," Jose commanded as he stood up and dusted off his coat. "I'll let that one slide."

"Levy has nothing to do with this, leave her out of it," Gajeel said.

"You sure do give a lot of orders for someone who owes me half a million," Jose Porla commented as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You have six months, Gajeel, to pay me back. This day, six months from now, I want every single penny. If you don't have it to me by then, I will kill every single person you know and love. That may not be a long list, but it's long enough for it to hurt."

Gajeel gritted his teeth.

"I'll start with the sexy little doctor," Jose smirked.

"I won't let you," Gajeel assured him.

"Well if you pay me the money you owe, then I won't have too," Jose explained before turning on his heels and walking away with his two cronies in tow.

Gajeel sighed and let his shoulders sink down. He shook his head and looked at Rogue's headstone. He placed his hand on the cool granite and stroked it. "What am I gonna do, Rogue? You were right." Gajeel bit his lip and sighed heavily. "Porla isn't ever going to stop because I won't stop him myself. Now he's gonna hurt Levy, I can't let that happen. What should I do?" He removed his hand from the cold granite and looked up at the moon.

Rogue was probably just as confused as Gajeel was. Unlike most kids that went through the system being bumped from foster home to foster home, Rogue was a kind person. He never had it in him to act out or trash talk anyone, he was just quiet and kind. Gajeel used to think he was weird because of it, but over time he learned to appreciate that about Rogue. It wasn't until Rogue was gone that Gajeel realized how much he really loved him.

"I wish you were here," Gajeel whispered to the headstone. "I need you." With those words, Gajeel walked away.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>"A Halloween Party?" Levy asked with a sigh as Lucy was washing dishes. "Really?" The blue haired girl was curled up on the couch with her nose buried in a book like usual.<p>

"Yeah, why not, it's in two weeks and Erza and Jellal are going back home soon," Lucy said as she kicked the dish washer door closed and walked over to the couch, plopping down by Levy's feet. "I mean we won't see them again until a week before their wedding, so let's make it fun for their last weekend here." The blonde seemed rather happy with her whole last minute party plan. Levy was never a fan of Halloween, she was jumpy. When they watched a scary movie, even if it was corny, she spent half the time hiding behind a pillow. Lucy and Natsu, however, loved Halloween and everything that went along with it.

"Couldn't we just like go out to eat or something?" Levy suggested as she slipped her bookmark into her book and closed it. She laid it down on the coffee table and sat up a little straighter, looking to Lucy. The gears in the blonde's head were turning and finally she snapped her fingers and pointed at Levy. "What?"

"Why don't we go downtown to that Terror on 13th Street?" Lucy said with a bright smile, but it quickly faded when she saw Levy's frown. "Oh come on! You don't have to go into the haunted houses, you can eat or play games."

"By myself?" Levy asked skeptically.

"We would be there too," Lucy said with a laugh.

"Oh please, you'll all wanna go into the haunted houses and I'll be all alone freaking out in the town square," Levy snorted as she got up from the couch. She went into the kitchen and started to dig around in the fridge for something to drink. "Besides it's bad enough I'll be a seventh wheel, as opposed to the usual fifth wheel." Levy popped open a soda can and walked back to the living room and stood in front of Lucy.

"You can invite someone to come," Lucy pointed out with a shrug. "Maybe Gajeel?" she tried, earning a scoff from Levy. That had to be the silliest idea Lucy had ever had. Gajeel and her weren't exactly on the best of terms and she really doubted he would want to go. He was very antisocial and he probably wouldn't enjoy himself at all. Levy would probably spend the better half of the night complaining, hiding, and screaming and no guy wanted that.

"I'm not asking my patient out on a date," Levy said with a shake of her head.

Lucy furrowed her brows. "Who said anything about a date? It's just friend's hanging out."

"Friends hanging out?" Levy repeated with an eye roll. "Friends don't have regular sex with their friends."

Lucy laughed. "I meant just you and Gajeel."

"We aren't friends!" Levy exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

Lucy sighed and shook her head. "You could be though," she chimed. "He can't be all bad, Levy, he took care of you when you were a hot mess."

Her best friend had a point there, Gajeel did take care of her in her time of need. Even though he got hostile about it, he was still a decent person. She also had to think that he must have cared to have gotten mad about it in the first place. At the time, it seemed like he was just picking a fight, but now she could see he said those things the way he did because he didn't want her in harms way. It was an odd revelation for her, to think someone who was practically a stranger cared that much about her.

"I suppose you have a point," Levy muttered with a small shrug. "He's not...all bad."

Lucy started to laugh. "You have a session with him again tomorrow right? Why not ask him? Oh and you should invite his roommate too, that way if it gets awkward, you have a fall back."

"You think it'll be awkward?" Levy asked, suddenly wondering if it was a good idea. They weren't on very good terms, after all her session with him the other day was filled with tension. The silence between them was deafening, and when she had to speak to him she thought he was going to throw her out the window.

"I'm not saying that it will be, I'm just saying it's possible and you want to cover all your bases," Lucy explained as she clapped her hands together. "I'm sure it'll be fine. You two might actually hit it off, then become friends, and then lovers, and get married and have beautiful babies." Lucy blinked in a dramatic manner, and Levy stared at her blankly with her mouth hanging open.

"Let's not get carried away," Levy smiled back and patted her friend's head.

The front door came open as Gray and Natsu came in. Natsu had a basketball tucked under one arm and a gym bag on his shoulder. Gray was shirtless, as usual, and had his own gym bag hanging off of his shoulder. They were arguing about the game they had just played. Lucy and Levy looked at them as they continued to argue without even noticing the girls.

"Hey! Guys!" Lucy called out, tapping Natsu on the back as she leaned over the arm of the couch. They continued to ignore her, which pissed her off. Levy chuckled as Lucy stood up on the couch and prepared to jump on Natsu. If Gray wasn't so wrapped up in his little argument with Natsu, he would have noticed her looming over them. And if Natsu would have just turned around when she tapped him, all of this could have been avoided.

"You let thirteen year olds beat us!" Natsu exclaimed, shoving the basketball into Gray's chest.

"He kicked me!" Gray shot back.

"You should ha-OOF!" Natsu stumbled forward when a heavy weight landed on his back. Gray barely managed to escape from being landed on as Natsu crumbled to the floor with Lucy sitting on his back. "What the hell are you doing?" Natsu groaned as he lifted his head from the floor and propped his arms underneath himself.

"You wouldn't listen!" Lucy snapped as she climbed off of her boyfriend and dusted herself off. "And you guys lost to thirteen-year-olds? Really?"

"They were tall," Gray snorted.

"Levy's got a date!" Lucy announced gleefully.

The blue haired woman's mouth fell open and her eyes went wide. She started stuttering, but was silenced when Gray and Natsu started to congratulate her, telling her she deserved to go on a good date. She smiled weakly and looked at Lucy, who gave her a thumbs up.

"Well, who's the guy?" Natsu asked, nudging Levy.

She was blushing and took in a deep breath. "It's not a date."

"But it is!" Lucy interrupted. "It's gonna be like a group date."

"Group date?" Natsu and Gray repeated in unison.

"She wants me to invite Gajeel to that Terror on 13th Street," Levy explained to the two boys. They both agreed that they could probably have a good time if they went in a big group. Levy was kind of hoping they would disagree, but so much for that plan. "You're supposed to disagree! I'm not big into the whole haunted houses and scary movies, I'm a chicken! This is a bad idea." Levy shook her head as walked over to the table to take a seat.

"You said he was tense, maybe making some new friends will make him easy-going," Natsu suggested as he dropped his gym bag on the floor. "He might be cool."

"You just want me to bring him so you can get his autograph and stuff," Levy muttered.

"He's Gajeel Redfox!" Natsu exclaimed. "He's a rockstar in the boxing world."

"Levy this could be fun," Lucy said, giving her best friend the puppy dog eyes. "Please do it for me."

"And me!" Natsu chimed in.

She looked at her two friends as they pathetically groveled at her feet. Truthfully, she didn't think it was a bad idea, but it didn't seem like a good one either. "Alright! Fine! I'll do it for you guys." Levy rolled her brown eyes and squeaked when Natsu and Lucy gave her a crushing hug.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>Wendy sat on the couch by the front window, hoping she would see Gajeel coming up the pathway. He never came home after the fight, he'd been missing in action for the past two days. She was really worried that he might have gone and done something stupid. The things Gajeel had said before he stormed off had ripped right through her. She knew Gajeel would never intentionally hurt her feelings, he was just hurt too and he never let his emotions out. He would just hold them all inside until one day it ripped him apart from the inside out. Wendy hated knowing that Gajeel blamed himself for Rogue's death. It wasn't his fault, it was just an accident. No one blamed Gajeel for Rogue's passing, it was just one of those unfortunate things. His wounds would never heal though until he forgave himself. She wished that Gajeel could just see that, she knew Rogue would never want to see Gajeel like this. It was a true ugly downward spiral and she didn't know when it would stop.<p>

Her phone started to buzz on the coffee table. She perked up and quickly reached for the phone, but frowned when she didn't see Gajeel's name flashing on the screen. Wendy sighed softly and stared at the name of the man she was seeing.

"Doranbolt," Wendy greeted as she brought the phone to her ear and sank back into the cushions of the couch. "He still hasn't come home, I'm worried."

"_I'm sure he's fine. Did you want me to come over to keep you company?_" Doranbolt asked. He was a good guy, Wendy really liked him.

"I don't know," Wendy said with a small smile. "If Gajeel came back and you were here on _his _couch, I think he might actually kill you." She giggled a bit and looked out the window as she saw a couple walking their dog. Wendy bit her lip and got up from the couch to peak through the blinds.

"_Don't stress out, Gajeel's always been like this,_" Doranbolt assured her. He wasn't lying either, when Gajeel used to go to the gym he sometimes would take off in the middle of a session. There was no telling where he went, but he would be good for two or three days, sometimes not showing up until right before a match. Pantherlily said that Gajeel sometimes needed to clear his head, so he would just wander aimlessly. "_If you're this worried though we can go looking for him._"

"If there's one thing I know for sure about Gajeel is that if he doesn't want to be found, he won't be. The only person who could ever find him was Rogue." Wendy walked away from the window and started pacing around the coffee table.

"_Well maybe that's where he went_," Doranbolt suggested with a shrug.

"You mean his grave? Gajeel never visits," Wendy said.

"_You guys were arguing about Rogue though weren't you?_" he inquired.

"Not directly, it was more about Gajeel forgiving himself." Wendy wandered to the kitchen and opened up the fridge. "He blames himself for Rogue's death, but it was just an accident. Everyone knows that."

"_You're right, but we don't know what Gajeel and Rogue were saying to each other when it happened,_" Doranbolt pointed out.

Wendy pushed the fridge door close with her hip and went over to the kitchen table. She pulled out a chair and took a seat. "You're right," she said, swallowing hard. "He never has mentioned what they were talking about."

The sound of the front door opening, maybe Wendy shoot up from her seat. She heard the heavy footfalls on the floorboards and stared at the threshold. Doranbolt was speaking, but she wasn't listening anymore. Wendy pressed her lips together tightly as Gajeel appeared in the middle of the threshold. A sigh of relief slipped through her lips and she placed a hand on her chest.

"He's home, I have to go," Wendy said and quickly hung up the phone. She put it down on the table and stared at Gajeel, crossing her small arms over her chest. "Where have you been? I was worried!" she hissed at him.

"I was out," Gajeel replied shortly.

"Oh! Out, why didn't I look there?" Wendy grumbled sarcastically with an eye roll. "Seriously, I thought something bad happened. And I felt so guilty about the fight...Gajeel, I only push because I care about you."

He stared at her for a moment before letting out a heavy breath. "I know," he assured her with a single nod and rubbed the back of his neck. "Wendy, I'm sorry."

She smiled at him before running to him. Her arms wrapped around him and squeezed tightly. At first he was taken by surprise, but he chuckled and hugged her back. "I'm sorry too," she pulled away from him. "I just want you to be happy." She patted his arm and stepped away from him.

"Look, I'm gonna take a shower," he explained, he really didn't want to talk about it. That was typical on his part, bottling it up and forgetting about it until he imploded. "Why don't you order us some food?" he suggested as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket and handed it to Wendy.

"Sure, how about some pizza?" Wendy asked.

"That'll work," Gajeel said before walking to the stairs.

Wendy watched him go and sighed. He hadn't forgiven her entirely, he was still very upset. Something must have made him come back home, but she wasn't sure what. Nonetheless, Wendy was just glad he had come back. She picked her phone off of the table and quickly typed a message to Pantherlily, letting him know that Gajeel had finally returned after being gone for two days. After she sent that message she typed another one saying that something had made him come home, not because he wanted to return. She knew she was right, she could see it in his eyes that something was bothering him.

Her phone began to buzz as Pantherlily's name flashed on the screen. "Hello?" Wendy answered quietly, and walked over to the sink to turn on the faucet.

"_What do you think brought him back?_" Lily's voice came over the line.

"I don't know, he seems a little shaken and I don't think it was because of our fight," Wendy explained as she leaned back against the counter. "Lily...I think something bad is going to happen."

"_I'm gonna talk to him,_" Lily said.

"You're coming here?" she asked.

"_No, I'm going to meet him elsewhere._"


	9. Dark Side

**Author's Note:** Next chapter will be up on Sunday, and it's going to be filled with all kinds of Levy and Gajeel goodness. Happy Halloween everyone! Thanks for all the support, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

><p><strong>Dark Side<strong>

**-Seven Months Ago-**

_ He was victorious again, four consecutive years in a row, Gajeel Redfox was King of the Ring. Everyone knew who he was, he's was a legend. Once a street rat that lived in and out of foster homes to slumming it in the heart of Magnolia's slums. Gajeel was now a famous boxing champion, who was loved by many. As he walked back towards the locker rooms, many people clapped him on the shoulder, congratulated him, and wished him well for the next season. He thanked them as he walked through the crowd and down into the halls where reporters called out to him, trying to get a few words out of him. He was known for being stoic and tight-lipped though, so he just kept on walking._

_ When he finally arrived in the locker room, he smiled upon seeing Wendy, Lily, and Rogue. Those three people before him were his family, and that family was all he needed. Wendy ran over to him and jumped into his arms, congratulating him on another successful year. He stifled a laugh and hugged her back tightly before placing her down on the ground. Gajeel ruffled up her hair and bumped his fist with Lily._

_ "Keep this up and you will be doing more than just underground fighting," Lily said, clapping Gajeel on the shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "You just got the attention of the a whole mess of sponsors who want to take you to the top in League Fights."_

_ "League Fights?" Gajeel repeated, not sure if he really believed what he just heard. They had always talked about him joining the League Fights, but he thought that's all it was. Talk, nothing more and nothing less. If Lily said people wanted to sponsor him and take him to the top, that was a huge honor. "Are you serious?" he asked, looking to Lily, who nodded once and beamed at his friend._

_ "He is completely serious," Wendy chimed in. "In fact, Dark Horse wants to meet with you tonight at your celebration party at Rousseau's!" She clapped her hands together excitedly. Dark Horse was one of the biggest athletic gear companies in all of Fiore, and they rarely sponsored anyone who was new to the sports world._

_ Lily nodded his head when Gajeel looked to him for confirmation. "So get cleaned up and we'll head out there." With those words, Lily and Wendy left the locker room. When the door closed, Gajeel shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. His red eyes drifted over to Rogue, who was leaning against the pale blue lockers with his arms crossed over his chest._

_ "So how's it feel?" Rogue asked with a smile._

_ Gajeel sat down on the wooden bench and shook his head. "Sure as hell didn't think I'd be here." He clapped his hands together and chuckled lightly. "I finally got my life together, you know, we all have."_

_ "Yeah, I know," Rogue said and took a seat next to Gajeel. "I owe you a lot."_

_ Gajeel laughed and waved the matter off. "You're my brother, I'd do anything for you." The two hugged each other and parted a few moments later. "Alright enough love, we got a party to get too."_

_ "Yeah, I'm twenty-one now you know," Rogue said with a laugh as he stood up from the bench._

_ "I'm gonna leave you tanked in the middle of the town square without your shoes," Gajeel teased as he went over to his locker and grabbed his bag and a towel._

_ "What a brotherly thing to do," Rogue snorted with a roll of his eyes. "I'm gonna go wait with your adoring fans, don't take too long." The twenty-one year old with shaggy black hair waved and quietly left the room._

_ Gajeel waved to Rogue and ventured over to the showers at the other end of the room. He turned on the water and dropped his bag on the floor just outside of the curtain. Just as he took off his shirt, he heard the door to the locker room squeak open. He glanced over his shoulder, figuring it was just Rogue coming back. The person, however was definitely not Rogue, but someone he never thought he'd see again._

_ "Jose Porla," Gajeel grumbled. "To what do I owe the displeasure?"_

_ "Snarky as always," Jose Porla commented as he walked into the locker room. "You still owe me money, Gajeel."_

_ "I paid you back in full," Gajeel replied quickly, he was not about to negotiate this. Porla was paid off, that was that. "So you need to leave."_

_ "You know what I'm talking about," Jose Porla said, putting his hands behind his back. His beady eyes scanned Gajeel up and down like he was a piece of meat. "You owe me a lot of medical bills."_

_ "I don't owe you anything," Gajeel retorted._

_ "Half a million!" Jose snapped. "Do you think Rogue's medical bills paid for themselves?"_

_ Gajeel shook his head. "You had nothing to do with that."_

_ "Who do you think scored you a pro-bono surgery? Although I suppose it isn't pro-bono when someone has to pay," Jose commented with a smile and took a seat on the wooden bench. Gajeel wasn't sure he was hearing everything correctly._

_ "You're telling me you paid for his surgery?" Gajeel asked._

_ "Yes, and I expect to be paid back every single penny."_

Gajeel's eyes came open. He was laying on the couch, staring up at the ceiling and remembering the night Porla had come to him about the money he paid for Rogue's surgery. He hadn't known about Jose doing that, but he knew why he did. It wasn't because he cared about Rogue. All Jose Porla cared about was keeping Gajeel as one of his pawns, and what better way than putting him in debt. Porla knew that Gajeel would never let Rogue deal with him, meaning he would just do it himself. He was a sick and twisted man, and Gajeel had thought he was finally done with him.

"Hey," Wendy piped as she walked into the room. She poked her head over the back of the couch and looked down at Gajeel. "You're session is in like fifteen minutes."

"I'm not going," Gajeel grumbled as he rolled over, turning his back to Wendy. She scrunched up her face and walked around, taking a seat on the coffee table. When Gajeel saw her staring at him, he rolled his eyes and turned away again. It had been two days since his return back to the house. He still didn't really want to talk to Wendy, but he was getting better about it. "Go away brat."

"Seriously?" Wendy snapped. "Why aren't you going?"

"Because I don't feel like it," Gajeel answered curtly. "Now leave me alone." He didn't want to go for one simple reason. Levy McGarden. The more he hung around her and got involved with her, the more likely Porla would go after her. That was a risk he couldn't take, Levy didn't need to be involved in Porla and his sick little games. It might have been too late though, she might have been involved.

"You need to go," Wendy said. "So get up." She put the cup of tea down and tugged on a strand of Gajeel's hair.

He swatted her hand away, telling her to leave him alone. "Don't you have work or something?"

"It's my day off, so you can either go to your session or you can stay here with me and I'll just annoy the hell out of you." Wendy tugged on his hair again and again and again until he finally sat up and turned to look at her. She could see he was annoyed with her, but he had to go to his session. Not just because of his leg, but because of Levy. She didn't deserve to be ditched by Gajeel just because he was in a mood. "Why don't you wanna go? Is it because of Levy?"

"Can't I just not want to go because I don't want to?" Gajeel inquired as he got up from the couch. Wendy stared at him for a moment and shook her head, following after him. He was digging around in the fridge and when he grabbed a soda, he jumped finding Wendy right there in his face. "I just don't want to go, that's all there is to it, geez," Gajeel huffed as he gently pushed her aside and started for the stairs.

"Look, I know you're going to get mad and all, but I just have to say this," Wendy explained as she followed him up the stairs. When he stopped halfway, Wendy nearly bumped into him. "Don't push people away, what happened in the past is the past. Levy has tried hard to put up with you and she's sticking by you, don't throw it all away because you're feeling sorry for yourself. You need to forgive yourself and move on, please, I don't want to watch you do this to yourself anymore, Gajeel. I love you, and I want you to be happy. And as long as you stay like this," she gestured to him, "that'll never happen, you need to try. Rogue would want you to try." After Wendy finished her little speech, she smiled at him and gave him a pleading stare.

Gajeel knew she was just voicing her concern, and he appreciated it. The dark-haired man sighed softly and shook his head. "Thanks Wendy, but I'm not going." He turned back around and continued up the stairs.

Wendy being the young woman that she was, refused to accept that answer. She felt like he was hiding something from her. He never used to be so closed off, but after losing Rogue…he just shut down. Not that he was truly ever someone who was an open book, but sometimes Wendy felt like she had to use the Jaws of Life to get him to admit to anything. Part of her wanted to believe he was developing feelings for the cute doctor, but somehow she knew it wasn't that. He looked like he was in deep thought, and Gajeel wasn't the type of person to think hard on a woman. Of course, Wendy knew that he had never truly had feelings for a woman, strong romantic feelings. It could all be knew to him and taking him by surprise, but she would have figured he'd be happy and not grumpy and sitting alone in the dark like some sort of blood crazed vampire.

Just as Gajeel was about to shut his bedroom door, Wendy put her foot in front of it and pushed against it. The boxer huffed and threw his hands up in the air. Obviously she wasn't going to stop pestering him, it wasn't in her nature to just leave him be. All he wanted was some time alone, some time to think. He couldn't tell her about Jose Porla; if he did she would tell Lily and then everything would get so much worse. Gajeel would just have to bite his tongue and put up with it, pretending nothing was wrong.

"You have to go!" Wendy pleaded.

Gajeel sighed and just sat down on the edge of his bed. "I really don't," he replied with a shake of his head. "Why do you care so much if I miss one day?"

"Cause I know you," Wendy snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. She was done being nice about it, she was just going to tell him how it was. "You're giving up! Just when things start getting better for you, you give up because you don't think you deserve it. And you know that isn't true! I was there Gajeel, I was there for the ride up to the top and the whole ugly spiral downwards. I'm tired Gajeel!"

"Wendy, seriously I think you just—"

"No! Shut-up! I'm not going to stop caring," Wendy hissed, shaking her head quickly. "You're the only family I got. I don't want to be alone again." She began to cry, tears rolling down her face, nose turning red, and eyes getting puffy. Gajeel stared at her for a moment and sighed, standing up from his bed. He walked over to Wendy and put his arms around her, holding her close to him.

He held her safely in his arms and rubbed her back. She sobbed into his chest and had her petite arms wrapped around his waist. He pulled away a few seconds later and brushed away her tears with his calloused fingers. "You won't be alone, Wendy," he told her, looking into her eyes, gently stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. "I'll go to the stupid session, just stop with the waterworks." He smiled weakly and ruffled the top of her head.

Wendy gave him a teary smile, but nodded happily.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>Levy laid flat on her back in the middle of the blue colored mat. Gajeel was twenty minutes late, she was beginning to think he wasn't going to show up. Maybe he didn't want to go through another awkward session. In a way, she felt a little relieved, because that also meant that she didn't have to invite him to Terror on 13th Street. Lucy had made her swear that she would legitimately invite him, and do her best to make him say yes. At first Levy was apprehensive about it all, but what was the worst that Gajeel could do? Say no? That prompted her to think, what if he actually said yes? Maybe it would be worse if he said yes. Levy sighed softly and laid her arm over her face.<p>

The door clicked open, causing Levy to shoot up. She turned around and her eyes widened. Gajeel was standing in the doorway with his gym bag slung over one shoulder. He waved to her and walked in, letting the door close quietly behind him. The blue haired girl just stared, her mouth slowly falling open. Levy quickly cleared her throat and got onto her feet. Gajeel walked over to the wooden bench and threw his bag down on it. He walked onto the mat and stood before her, staring down at her with intrigue.

"You're late," Levy stated, placing her hands on her hips.

Gajeel nodded his head knowingly. "My bad."

Levy frowned. "That's all you have to say?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry?" he tried, causing Levy to roll her pretty brown eyes. "What do you want me to say? Do you want an explanation? Cause it's really none of your business."

Levy glared at him. "What's with the attitude? Are you seriously still mad about that fight over the weekend? And it wasn't even a fight, you just got mad for no good reason. So drop the attitude already, I don't deserve it!"

"Oh? Well look who finally grew a spine," Gajeel snorted.

"You are unbelievable! Why are you treating me like this? I've done nothing to deserve it. I've tried to be nice and understanding given your situation, but you know you need to cut me some slack here. And if anyone should be mad here, it's me!" Levy was surprised with herself, she wasn't the type to dive head first into confrontation. She was always the lover, not the fighter. She just wanted things to work out for the best, but maybe this was for the best. Maybe she and Gajeel couldn't be friends, maybe it was better if they just saw this all as a business transaction. They only had a handful more of sessions and then they would never need to see each other again. At the same time though, Levy didn't want to simply give up on him. It appeared that that's all people ever did to him. Give up, and it had happened so much that he had given up on himself. "I don't get you," Levy said with a shake of her head and walked away from him, going to sit on the wooden bench.

"That's not really my problem now is it?" Gajeel asked.

Levy stared at him and stifled a laugh. "Why do you do that?" she asked, meeting his gaze, dipping her head down to keep it as he avoided her eyes. "Why do you act like it doesn't bother you?"

"Because it doesn't," Gajeel retorted coolly. "You and Wendy keep thinking I need help, friends, and family, and all that. I don't though."

"The fact that you can even say that, means that you do," Levy said softly. "What is it, Gajeel? What made you like this? The accident?" she asked, tilting her head slightly. Her brown eyes studied him as he stood there. He was rigid, his eyes dark, and expression devoid of any emotion. There was a dark side to him, just looming deep within him. This need for punishment, this need to carry the weight of the world all on his own. Levy could see it, and it saddened her to think someone believed they deserved that.

"Can we just get this session over with?" Gajeel asked, brushing the subject off completely.

"No," Levy replied and stood up.

"You women are infuriating," Gajeel huffed.

Levy scoffed. "Your one to talk."

"Alright, you really want to know what happened in that accident?" Gajeel asked, walking towards Levy. She nodded her head and gestured for him to explain what happened. "I killed my brother, my best friend, that's what happened in that accident. I survived and he died. I killed him! I told the doctors to take him off life support, he was brain dead. He was just gone, one minute we're driving, and the next were smashed into a wall and everything I knew…everything I loved…was ripped away from me." She could see all his broken pieces just lying on the floor with no hope. The anger in his eyes, the hurt written across his face, it hit her hard. He was tormented by what had happened and that guilt inside of him was eating him alive.

"So you're punishing yourself," Levy said.

Gajeel licked his lips. "Why do you care if I am?"

"Because it isn't fair," Levy said softly with a weak smile. "I don't think your brother would want you to punish yourself. I think he would want you to move on, make friends, find love, and happiness. The only one stopping you from that is yourself. Have you ever thought your leg hurts sometimes because you think your brother wants you to suffer?"

Gajeel only stared at Levy.

"He doesn't want you to suffer, Gajeel, and he sure as hell wouldn't want you to keep on like this. Sometimes bad things happen, and those things are completely out of your control." By this point Levy was standing right in front of Gajeel, staring up at him with sincerity shining in her eyes. His eyes softened a little, needless to say her words touched him. Maybe it was because she was a complete stranger and she believed he should be happy. When Wendy said those words to him it didn't hit him like it did when Levy said it.

"I don't know how to forgive myself," Gajeel admitted and swallowed hard. "I can't."

Levy smiled at him and pushed herself onto her tiptoes, touching his face gently so that he would look at her. "I can help with that," she said. "But you have to let me in." Her hand fell from his face and she nodded to him.

"How can you help me?" he asked, staring down at her.

She pressed her lips together in a tight line. "This weekend, my friends and I are going to Terror on 13th Street. You should come. I'm asking you to come and bring Wendy too if you want. I really think you should come, it's going to be fun and it'll be a good place for you to start. So seven o'clock on Friday at Terror on 13th Street?" She gave him a hopeful smile and waited for his answer.

Gajeel stared at Levy, not sure if she had really just invited him and Wendy to go out on Friday night. It had been a long time since he had gone out to have a good time. He spent most of his time working on the truck or lazing around his house. Wendy had tried to get him to go out, but short of going to a grocery store or auto parts store, Gajeel didn't venture anywhere. Before the accident, he went out on Friday and Saturday nights with guys from the gym or would even be a pack mule for Wendy at the mall. He never did that anymore though, he just wanted to be alone. He was afraid to get close to people now in fear that he might lose them.

Levy bit her lip. "I know I'm your doctor and all, so it's kind of weird. But I think we can be friends, so I really think you should come."

"I…" Gajeel started and didn't look very convinced.

"There will be food and plenty of drinking, I could use a babysitter." Levy smiled and batted her lashes at him.

"Really?" Gajeel asked sarcastically with an eye roll. "I'm not going to babysit you."

"Don't worry," Levy replied with a chuckle. "I learned my lesson the first time."

Gajeel sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"Gajeel, don't," Levy said. "You won't know until you try. Please come, I could use someone who won't purposefully drag me through every haunted house or lose me just because."

"You need new friends," Gajeel commented, and Levy laughed lightly.

"Well, I'm trying here," she pointed out.

Gajeel smirked. "Okay, I'll go."

Levy beamed and nodded her head. "Great," she said, patting his chest. "Now we may begin the session."

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>Levy stood in front of the mirror. Lucy had convinced her to dress up for the evening as well. She tried to get out of it, but Lucy wouldn't let her win and Juvia helped. Now she was dressed up in a cute blue mini dress that had uneven ends. Her feet were adorned with gold ballet flats that had ribbons on them, wrapped up to her knees. Her blue hair was in a fancy updo with in ringlet curls that made her neck appear longer. She bit her lip and studied the blue, purple, and gold face paint that glittered in the light. Beautiful swirls went around her eyes and down her neck. Lucy had even glued rhinestones in various places on her face.<p>

"So what do you think?" Lucy asked as she walked into Levy's room.

"I think this is over the top," Levy admitted with a small laugh.

"Well it's about to get even more crazy," Juvia announced as she barged into the room holding a gaudy set of glittery butterfly like wings. She walked over to Levy and clipped them onto the back of her dress. "You look awesome." Juvia smiled and clapped her hands together. Lucy agreed with her and pulled out her cellphone, suggesting they all take a quick picture before they had to leave.

"Girls! We're going to be later let's go!" Gray shouted from the living room.

"Wait, we gotta take a selfie!" Lucy shouted back as she fixed up her hair in the mirror. She looked to Juvia and Levy, gesturing for them to scoot in close to her as she held her phone out in front of them.

Juvia made a winking face with her colorful rhinestones that she had glued around various spots onto her face and had her hair draping down over her shoulder to her sleek dress that resembled the body of a mermaid. Levy in her fairy costume opened her eyes as wide as she could and put a cute little smile on her face. Lucy was dressed up as a witch with cat-eye like makeup and a tight fitting black and red dress with a spider web laced cape. Just when she took the picture Gray walked into the room dressed up in his pinstripe pimp suit and pointed his cane at them.

"Let's go already, ladies, the cab is waiting," Gray said.

"Sorry, we're coming," Lucy said as she stuck her cellphone into her blouse, squishing it down into her bra. "Ready Levy?" she asked, wiggling her brows.

"I'm freaking out and I have no clue why," Levy replied as the four filed out of the room and made their way out of the apartment. It was already dusk and the young children were running around with their pumpkin buckets already getting full with candy.

"Maybe because it's like a date," Gray commented as he put his arm around Juvia's shoulder. They started down the stairs and could hear Natsu joking around with Erza and Jellal.

"It's not a date!" Levy squeaked.

"I said like a date, keyword being: like," Gray corrected with a wave of his finger.

"What's like a date?" Erza asked, placing her hands on her hips. She was dressed up like a vampire and even went and purchased a pair of special effect contacts to complete her vampiric look.

"Levy invited Gajeel, and she nervous," Juvia explained.

"And I didn't say anything about dressing up," Levy muttered as she pulled her dress down, which she felt was a little too short. It was also a little too chilly for such clothing, but Lucy told her to get into the spirit. "Maybe I should just-"

"NO!" everyone shouted in unison, causing Levy to jump.

"Levy you said he needed friends, well that's were you and the rest of us come in," Lucy explained, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder to offer both comfort and support. "Don't freak out, just have fun and everything will fall into place." Everyone agreed with her, which made Levy feel a little better, but she'd be lying if she said she still didn't want to back out. At the time, inviting Gajeel seemed like the right thing to do and now that it was happening, Levy could only feel the butterflies going crazy in her stomach.

It wasn't a long drive to Terror on 13th Street, it was crowded though with people walking around in their costumes from booth to booth and venturing into haunted houses and various bars and restaurants. Music was playing loudly, there were all kinds of lights twinkling in the leafless trees adding a very haunting look. Levy was already getting nervous as she saw people running around scaring people. She had just about forgotten about Gajeel altogether cause she was getting so scared.

"Ooh! Look karaoke!" Lucy exclaimed with excitement as they drove around a stage with a neon sign saying karaoke. "You should sing Levy," the blonde said, shaking her friend as the taxi van they were parked across the street from the stage to allow the group to get out.

"I don't think so," Levy replied with a shake of her head.

"Spoil sport," Lucy chuckled as she crawled out of the van with Levy following right after her. "Well, where do you think Gajeel and his friend are?" she asked as Natsu closed the van door and paid the taxi.

"I just told him to meet us here at seven," Levy answered and looked around the crowded town square. It was going to be impossible to find him when it was as dark as it was, not to mention how loud and crowded it was.

Jellal looked at the time on his phone. "Well it's 7:10, so he's probably here already," he said, showing Levy the time. She nodded in agreement and looked around, but could see anyone that was tall and pierced. "Wanna call him?"

"I don't know his number," Levy said sheepishly.

"What?" Natsu asked with a laugh. "You didn't even get his phone number?"

"I didn't think about it at the time," Levy admitted with a shrug and continued to scan the area. "Wait, I think I see Wendy."

"Levy!" the indigo haired girl wearing kitty ears shouted and waved. She was standing on top of a bench and jumped down, weaving through the crowd. A moment later, she was in front of Levy and greeted her with a hug. "I didn't think we'd find you in all of this," Wendy said with a laugh, gesturing to the mass of people wandering around.

"I was thinking the same thing," Levy chuckled. "Where's Gajeel?"

Wendy turned around and pointed as Gajeel walked out of the crowded. He was dressed in ripped up jeans, black combat boots, and a tight fitting dark gray t-shirt that showed off his chiseled arms and chest.

"Hey Pip," Gajeel smiled weakly, and Levy smiled back. This was going to be one of those nights.


	10. Things that go Bump in the Night

**Author's Note: **Eek! I'm so excited for this chapter! Gajeel and Levy bonding, enjoy this chapter! Thank you all for the support on their story, can't wait to see what you guys think.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Things that go Bump in the Night<span>**

Levy was panicking as she and her friends were standing in line to get some tickets for the scariest haunted house on the block. She knew this was going to be a bad idea, and it was even worse when she found out Gajeel and Wendy were into this stuff. No one was going to miss out on the scariest haunted house. And she wasn't about to wait alone outside with all those people running around scaring people in the courtyard. About five minutes ago so blood clown with a machete was following her around. She had pushed all the guys around her to form a wall, hoping the clown would go away. Thankfully it had, but that's when Gray made the suggestion for them to go into The Asylum. The name itself was enough to make Levy's skin crawl. And of course, everyone being the thrill seekers that they were agreed to go in.

"Freaking out yet?" Lucy asked, nudging Levy who was standing beside her. The blue haired girl nodded her head as she stared at the entrance gate made of wrought iron. It was absolutely terrifying to here with the sound effects of screaming women and cawing of ravens. The spikes of the wrought iron fencing had heads impaled on them with blood sliding down the bars. Levy's stomach was doing flip-flops and they hadn't even entered the main entrance yet. "Don't be scared, we're all going in together." Lucy patted Levy on the shoulder and looked at the large black gates.

They were currently closed as the group before them were entering the haunted attraction. Levy was standing in-between Gajeel and Wendy, trying her hardest to not tremble. In front of her Natsu and Gray were talking with Juvia about the rumors they had heard of The Asylum, which wasn't helping Levy at all. Erza and Jellal were behind them, talking about the heads that were impaled on the gates and how the blood looked so real. Lucy frowned when she saw that Levy was about to break down and runaway. She was about to say something when the black gates screeched open slowly and they were beckoned to pass through the gates. Levy's eyes were wide and her breathing was shallow as Natsu and Gray walked passed the black gates with Lucy and Juvia trailing behind them.

When they passed through the gates and followed the sidewalk to the back end of the building. Right after Jellal and Erza had walked in, the black gates screeched closed, trapping them in the alley. Levy looked around as the lights flashed on and off with each step they made. Wendy was skipping along in front of her and Gajeel. How Wendy was going through this without freaking out, Levy would never understand. Gajeel was looking at the wall and pointed out there were bloody hand prints spread along the wall. Levy looked at the wall and swallowed hard. He was right blood was splattered along the wall as if someone has been slaughtered.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to The Asylum!" a boastful voice echoed.

The sheer loudness was enough to make Levy jump and scream. The host, an evil ringmaster with a red pinwheel painted around their neon green eyes smiled. The other eye was a pale blue, nearly white, while their smile was painted to be a big mouth with sharp teeth. Levy could tell it was a woman due to the physique and the fact she was wearing a leotard with a sexy dark red tailed coat adorned with gold buttons. Her heels clicked on the floor as she approached and twirled her cane around before stamping it onto the ground.

"So I have a few quick things that you need to know before entering The Asylum," the woman explained, flicking her wild purple hair over her shoulder. "Number one, there is only one way out, however there are multiple passage ways. So if one of the creatures or mutilated patients or doctors comes after you, they're trying to point you in the right direction. That leads me to number two," she held up two fingers and started pacing before them. "These creatures and tormented souls will touch you and pull you, so I suggest you be prepared to be dragged into a cell. And finally number three there are five floors to The Asylum. You start from the top, floor five, and work your way down to the basement, the final floor. And one more thing, the final floor, the basement, you will have to enter alone. Mind you, there's no turning back. Once you enter The Asylum you can't leave until you go all the way through."

The evil ringmaster put on a devilish grin and gestured to the elevator, telling everyone to board. Levy swallowed hard as her friends began to enter the elevator. Without even thinking, Levy grabbed onto Gajeel's arm tightly. He glanced down at her and stifled a laugh.

"What's the matter, Pip, too scary for you?" he asked.

"She might actually break your arm," Natsu chimed in just as the elevator doors started closing. "She's not good with this stuff."

"Well no turning back now," Gajeel said with a smirk as he looked down at Levy. She looked up at him and pouted a bit. The elevator began moving, the number on the dial changing as they passed each floor. When the elevator stopped, the bell dinged and the doors slowly opened. "So how are you going to get through the final floor?" Gajeel asked her as they all began to file out of the elevator, entering a large room.

Levy shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "Run like hell," she guessed, and Gajeel chuckled. "Don't laugh, cause that's really my plan."

"Well what happens when you fall and they drag you into a cell," Gajeel pointed out.

"Why would you say that?" Levy asked with narrowed eyes. They were now off the elevator and looking around the large circular room. It was completely empty, which let Levy's imagination run wild. "There's the door," Levy said as she pointed to double doors across from the elevator.

The doors were painted a pale blue with the words 'Do Not Enter' painted in what looked like blood. Levy swallowed hard as Natsu walked over and was about to pull the doors. She had a bad feeling that something would happen when the doors opened. As the fear started to set in, Levy squeezed Gajeel's arm and started to tremble.

"I really don't think you'll make it through this without passing out," Gajeel commented, but Levy remained silent. Her eyes were fixed on the doors as Natsu yanked them wide open. All the lights just shut out, making the room pitch black. Levy squeezed Gajeel's arm even tighter, fearing what was going to come next. "Easy Pip, your actually hurting me," Gajeel whispered to her, but Levy was too damn scared to loosen her grip.

Suddenly a loud clanking rang in the room.

Four square windows appeared around the room. There was a dim lighting coming from each of the rooms. Levy looked around, seeing vague outlines of everyone. She scooted closer to Gajeel, hoping that she wouldn't be easily seen behind his large form.

A shrill scream echoed in the room.

Levy's eyes closed tightly and she buried her face into Gajeel's back. She summed up all the courage she had and peaked around his arm to one of the windows. Her eyes widened as she saw a teenaged girl with wild brown hair and solid black eyes staring at them. She wore a hospital gown that was tattered and torn. Levy and the girl locked eyes.

The girl slammed her hand on the glass and Levy squeaked. She turned away, catching the glimpse of the other window. Inside was a man in a strait jacket, thrashing around in the room. Levy shook her head and glanced to the third window. A crazed looking doctor with gashes on his head and blood splattered on his white coat was staring at them with a maniacal smile.

"Come on let's get moving," Natsu said as he stood in front of the final window, which contained three people chained from the ceiling, just dangling as if they had been hung. Lucy followed after Natsu with Gray and Juvia tailing her. The room they were about to enter was pitch black, but Levy feared she'd see more people trapped behind glass.

Jellal, Erza, and Wendy were now out of the room and vanishing into the darkness. Levy was frozen with fear, she couldn't bring herself to move a muscle. She felt a hand take hold of hers, lacing calloused fingers with silky smooth ones. Her heart skipped a beat and her cheeks flushed red, she was so grateful for the darkness at that very moment.

"Come on or we'll get left behind," Gajeel said, pulling her gently towards the double doors. Another shrill scream came from the girl in the first window. Levy gasped and darted towards the door, pulling Gajeel along. "Just remember, it's not real." He smiled at her weakly and walked into the next chamber.

"I can't believe I'm in here," Levy sighed, still holding tightly to Gajeel's hand. They found themselves in a narrow hallway that was lined with multiple doors. It appeared that they were doors leading into patients rooms. Lucy and Natsu were just up ahead.

"It's a dead end, we'll have to go into the rooms," Natsu said, looking at everyone. "So everyone get in front of a door."

Gray was already way ahead of them as he pushed a door open and walked inside. Juvia followed right behind him, stepping cautiously as they entered the room. "If someone starts chasing us, we're going the wrong way."

"Then let's go into different rooms," Jellal said as he turned to the door across from the room Juvia and Gray had wandered into. "One of us if bound to find the right door." He twisted the handle and it opened. Erza slipped past him and walked into the room. It was very dark, but when she took a step further the lights started flickering.

"Oh shit!" Erza screamed as she found herself in a room filled with dozens of body bags. She started backing up until she bumped into Jellal's body. He put his hands on her hips and pushed her forward, telling her they had to keep going. "Right," Erza muttered as she grabbed Jellal's hand and started wandering inside.

Natsu and Lucy watched as Jellal and Erza disappeared amongst the body bags and looked at each other. "Let's try that one," Lucy said, pointing two doors down the hall on the left side. Natsu nodded and walked on to the door, pushing it open. There in the middle of the room was a single chair with a woman sitting in it. He assumed it was a woman at least, seeing as the person had long black hair that was covering their face. Lucy peaked over Natsu's shoulder and swallowed hard. "Never mind," she squeaked, but Natsu took hold of her hand and pulled her into the room.

"Be brave, Luce," he said. "There's a door over there." He pointed across the room to a door that was covered in yellow caution tape and had a smear trail of blood going into it.

Lucy looked back to see Gajeel, Wendy, and Levy were still out in the hallway, watching them venture in. Natsu quietly walked further into the room, hoping that the woman in the chair would stay in the chair. When they were both about a quarter of the way into the room, Wendy went in after them. Gajeel and Levy remained at the doorway, watching as the three tiptoed across the room.

Aside from the single light above the woman, the rest of the room was covered in shadow. Natsu and Lucy were halfway across with Wendy a few steps behind them. Gajeel looked down at Levy and was about to ask if she wanted to go with them. He never got the chance though. The door quickly slammed shut in their faces followed by Wendy and Lucy screaming as loud as they could.

Levy's heart started pounding hard against her chest. She looked down the hall and shrieked. Gajeel furrowed his brows and turned in the direction she was looking. At the end of the hall was the doctor that had previously been behind the window. The lights began to flicker on and off and each time he appeared a little closer.

"Oh god, oh god," Levy whimpered.

"Come on." Gajeel led Levy to another door and pushed it open, dragging her inside regardless of what would be on the other side. Thankfully, the room they entered wasn't so bad. At least in Gajeel's opinion, Levy still seemed to be panicking. "It's a...morgue," Gajeel commented as he looked to a wall made of metal with plenty of little doors to hide people in.

"We're separated from everyone now," Levy mumbled as she started looking around. "I thought they said there was only one way through."

"They did," Gajeel assured her. "I'm sure all these rooms lead to the next floor."

"Gajeel," Levy said softly and he glanced at her.

"Yeah?" he asked with a questioning stare. It was at that moment he realized her was still holding her hand. He was about to let go, but Levy squeezed it tighter.

"Please don't leave me," she told him, and he stifled a laugh.

"I'm not going to leave you," he promised her with a s single nod and stared winding through the metal tables that were all empty thankfully. Levy smiled in relief and wrapped her other arm around his. Gajeel felt his heart skip a beat, and he cleared his throat. "Don't be afraid," he whispered to her as they approached the door that would hopefully lead them out.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>Lucy was waiting with Natsu by the water fountain in the middle of the square. Many people were still venturing around at different booths and haunted houses. Since The Asylum ended with everyone having to enter alone, the group was still separated. Natsu had volunteered to go first followed by Lucy and Wendy. No one else had gone through yet, but they agreed to meet by the water fountain.<p>

"I hope Levy will be okay," Wendy said as she sat down on the edge of the water fountain by Lucy. "She seemed pretty freaked out in there."

"She'll be okay, it wasn't that scary in there," Lucy replied, but it actually was rather frightening. She barely made it out herself without crying. Just as the ringmaster at the entrance had claimed, they did touch you and tried to pull you into cell. Three of them got a hold of Lucy, but she just started running towards the exit sign. She was so relieved she found the stairs leading out to the town square. When she got out, she found Natsu and hugged him so tight she nearly suffocated him.

"I like this kind of stuff and even I was freaking out," Wendy claimed and looked back to the exit where Juvia came running out. She stopped just across the street from them and placed her hand over her chest as she panted heavily. "There's Juvia," Wendy said, pointing to the blue-eyed girl who was standing by a lamp post.

"I'll go get her," Natsu offered as he ran across the street to go get her.

"Can I ask you something, Wendy?" Lucy inquired. She'd been wondering about it all night, but wanted to ask when it was just the two of them. Wendy nodded her head and looked to Lucy expectantly. "Is Gajeel a good guy?"

"What do you mean?" Wendy asked with furrowed brows.

"There's just a lot of rumors about him," Lucy explained and licked her lips. "I just...I'm just looking out for my friend. Levy's been through a lot and well, I don't want her to get hurt if she doesn't have too."

Wendy smiled weakly at Lucy. "I see," she whispered and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Gajeel is a good guy. He's rough around the edges, but he takes care of the ones he loves. I know he seems a little creepy, but he's been through a lot and has lost a lot."

Lucy was relieved to hear those words. She also felt bad for Gajeel, he seemed like a decent person. After taking care of Levy, Lucy approved of Gajeel. Of course, he was rather rude when they first met. This time around he seemed a bit more polished and a tad friendlier.

"I hate you!" Levy hissed, snapping Lucy from her thoughts. The blonde turned to look at Levy and smiled brightly. "That was the most horrific thing I have ever had to do! And it was all because of you! I hate you!" Levy accused, pointing to Lucy. The blonde started to laugh and stood up from where she was sitting.

Wendy laughed as well. "But you made it," the indigo haired teen pointed out.

"Exactly," Lucy said with a smile. "You made it."

"I never would have had to go in there if it wasn't for you though," Levy huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Oh don't act like you didn't enjoy it," Lucy giggled as she waved a finger at Levy, who started to blush. Sure enough, Levy and Gajeel spent the better half of the hour holding hands and walking through a scary mental ward. Though Levy would have rather done that naturally, rather than out of fear of being taken away by those crazy people. "I saw you, clinging onto Gajeel."

Wendy started to giggle.

"It was a reflex," Levy mumbled.

"You can just say 'thank you'," Lucy teased, nudging Levy in the ribs with her elbow as Gajeel had come walking out of The Asylum. He was stopped by Natsu and Juvia, who were waiting for Gray to come out. It appeared that Gajeel was actually enjoying him, which made both Wendy and Levy happy to see. At first Levy worried it would be weird for him, but he fit right in. "Yep, I see that sparkle in your eyes," Lucy chuckled as she pointed to Levy's face.

Said girl quickly blushed and looked away from Gajeel. "Oh stop!" Levy snapped, waving the matter off. "I was just scared, that's all."

"Scared and holding his hand like the whole way through," Lucy commented, batting her long curly lashes.

Wendy smiled at the two girls. Her eyes drifted over to Gajeel, who was smirking as he was talking to Juvia and Natsu. It was such a relief to her that Gajeel was finally making friends after seven long months. He actually looked happy and it was all thanks to Levy McGarden.

"This isn't a date, Lucy," Levy sighed as she shook her head.

"Well it wasn't, but now," Lucy started to giggle.

"Unbelievable," Levy snorted with an eye roll.

"He likes you too," Wendy finally chimed in. Both Levy and Lucy looked at Wendy with a hint of shock. "He really does." She smiled and nodded her head, assuring both girls that she was being completely honest.

"Really?" Levy squeaked.

Wendy nodded her head.

Levy looked at Lucy, who beamed like a kid in a candy store. The blue haired girl bit her lip and slowly turned to look over at Gajeel. Gray had finally come out and had his arm draped over Juvia's waist while they were all talking. Her brown eyes started to sparkle at the thought of Gajeel liking her. Deep down inside, Levy did have a little crush on him. How could she not? He was tall, muscled, and very handsome. The sound of his voice, the hard life he had experienced just like her, and the way her hand fit perfectly in his. It was like a piece of corny romance, but she actually enjoyed it.

"That's why he's been avoiding you," Wendy explained, gaining Levy's attention. "He doesn't think he deserves you, so he keeps his distance. But you're the first girl that has actually given him a reason to smile."

"Why is that?" Levy asked.

"Because you care about him as a person," Wendy answered, patting Levy on the back. "And I thank you for that."

Lucy was happy to find all this out. She had her doubts, but overall deep down she knew there was a spark between Gajeel and Levy. Sure people always said the spark wasn't a real thing, but in this case it was completely real. When she looked over to Gajeel, she saw him looking over at Levy. He had excused himself from the others and made his way over to them. Lucy smiled brightly and tapped Levy on the shoulder to get her attention. When she turned around, Levy bit the corner of her lip and waved as Gajeel approached.

"So how was it?" Gajeel asked, gesturing over to The Asylum.

"Utterly terrifying," Levy admitted with a small laugh. "But I survived."

"I told you," Gajeel said with a smile and looked at Lucy. He raised a pierced brow at her as she gushed at the two. "You okay Blondie?"

Lucy cleared her throat and straightened out. "Oh yeah," she laughed, waving the matter off. "Everyone's out now, we should go eat." She clapped her hands together and pointed at the group that was heading their way.

"What's next?" Erza asked when the whole group was reunited again.

"Time to eat," Lucy said, waving for everyone to follow. She knew just the place for them to go.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>Levy was sitting outside of the restaurant, shivering a bit in the cool autumn air. She and her friends had spent the last two hours inside of the casual diner behind her. They made jokes, took pictures, and just had the best time of their lives. Gajeel and Wendy were welcomed with open arms. Though he was quiet most of the time, Gajeel had finally started warming up to everyone. It was like they had been friends for years, and that really made Levy happy. This was the same diner she used to go to all the time with Jet and Droy on Saturday nights. She sighed softly, thinking about the good old days.<p>

A quiet wind blew through the street. Levy shivered again and curled up a bit on the bench. She pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them. A warmth came over her, and she sat up straight as a leather jacket fell onto her shoulders. It was way too big for her, but it kept her protected from the wind. She let her legs back down from the bench and looked up to see Gajeel standing behind her.

"Gajeel." She stood up, the jacket falling just above her knees. A small smile came onto her face, and she pulled the jacket closer to herself. "Thanks."

Gajeel nodded to her and walked around the bench. When he sat down, he put his arm along the back of the bench he gestured for her to sit down. She smiled at him and took a seat beside him. "Why are you sitting outside all alone?" he asked her.

"I was just thinking," she admitted with a small shrug.

"About?" he prompted.

"Stuff and things," she replied with a little giggle when Gajeel rolled his eyes. Obviously he was looking for a more exact answer, but she didn't think it was a good idea to tell him about her ex and how this used to be their place. Well actually Loke's place was their place, but this place was a close second for them. "You seemed to be enjoying yourself, I'm glad." She smiled at him, and Gajeel shrugged his shoulders.

"It's not as bad as I thought it would be," Gajeel said.

"What? You thought it would be bad?" Levy asked with a laugh. "Thanks for the vote of confidence," she retorted sarcastically. Gajeel chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, saying she was his doctor, what else should he have truly expected. Levy looked at him for a moment and scrunched up her nose.

"What I mean is," he paused for a moment, brushing her cheek with his finger tips to gain her attention. "Thank you." He smiled at her, and Levy blushed.

"You're welcome," she replied with a single nod. A strand of hair fell free from the flower in her hair. Gajeel slowly moved his hand towards the strand and brushed it back behind her ear. Levy closed her eyes as his fingertips gently brushed against her skin. He moved his hand away and Levy slowly opened her eyes. "You've been unexpectedly pleasant this evening."

"Thanks...I think," Gajeel said, unsure if it was a compliment or not.

"I just thought you would have been more...difficult," Levy explained herself. Gajeel furrowed his brows and pursed his lips. Now it was beginning to feel more like an insult, but he could see that Levy was just being innocent. "I mean that in the best possible way," she added with a laugh.

Gajeel snorted. "Yeah well, you aren't so bad yourself."

"I was never bad to begin with that was all you," Levy corrected, batting her lashes at him.

"You lied to me, Pip, if you recall," Gajeel shot back with a smirk.

"Oh brother! I can't talk about my prior patients," Levy sighed, letting her head fall between her shoulders in defeat.

"I never asked you too," Gajeel muttered with an eye roll. "And it's not talking about them if you just mention a ball park number, not that you had one since I was your first." He looked at Levy, who was now pouting.

"You're never going to let me live this down are you?" Levy asked with a raised brow.

Gajeel chuckled. "Not a chance, Pip."

"Well needless to say, I'm actually enjoying this," Levy told him, gesturing back and forth between them. Gajeel smiled at that, a genuine and bright smile, as if he was proud about it. "I'm glad you came," Levy said, pulling the jacket closer to herself. "I'm keeping this jacket by the way." She winked at him, and Gajeel rolled his eyes.

"You can borrow it for the night, but I'm taking it back," Gajeel said.

"Awe come on, it looks much better on me." Levy jumped up from the bench and twirled about in front of Gajeel, modeling his jacket. He let out a laugh that came deep from his throat and shook his head. "Sure it's a little big, but it makes me look cuter."

Gajeel smiled. "Yeah, I guess," he agreed, making Levy smile brightly. In a way he had just called her cute, but maybe she was just looking too far into it. "Still, I'm taking it back. My coach got that jacket for me. It's special."

Levy looked at the jacket, it was of very nice quality. There was no doubt that the jacket probably cost a couple of hundred bucks. It was nice and toasty on the inside and blocked any and all wind chill. "I see, well it's very warm." She hugged herself in the jacket and sat back down beside him. "Why don't you see your coach anymore?"

"I just don't," Gajeel replied with a shrug. "I don't want to."

"Why? Wendy mentioned you two were once very close. And that picture in your room," Levy remembered. "You must miss him." She bit her lip, hoping she wasn't upsetting him. The look in his red eyes was distant and maybe even a little sad. Levy was about to apologize for bringing it up, but Gajeel shook his head.

"I do," Gajeel admitted after a few moments of silence. "I just, wanted to fix myself before I saw him again." He looked at Levy, and she nodded her head in understanding. It was apparent that Gajeel didn't like to be seen as weak. His whole life he had to be strong for everyone, it was all he knew. Levy kind of felt sorry for him, he probably never let anyone see his true emotions. That day when she invited him out, it was like he was trying everything he could not to break down.

"Sometimes the people you love are needed in order to fix what has been broken," Levy said, placing her hand on Gajeel's hand that was rest on his lap. She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. His red eyes stared at her small soft hand for a moment before looking over at her. "I bet he misses you too." She smiled weakly and rubbed her thumb along the top of his rough hand.

Gajeel squeezed Levy's hand. He appreciated her words, her kindness, and the fact that she hadn't given up on him. The last few times they had been around each other, he hadn't been the easiest person to get along with, but she didn't stop. It was people like her that made him believe the world still had some light in it. The way she smiled, he thought he'd go blind from the shine.

"Why are you so nice to me?" Gajeel asked, mostly cause he was curious for her reasons. She could have just been a nice person, but he had given her no reason to be nice to him.

Levy laughed lightly. "Uh, because I know what it's like when your gravity is taken away."

"Gravity?" Gajeel repeated with a raised brow.

"Yeah, the people you need in your life. They are your gravity," she explained with a warm smile. They were still holding hands, and it felt right to Levy. At the same time though, she knew that she was treading in dangerous waters. He was still her patient, and a relationship with him was out of the question. It would affect her entire career, so she slowly let go of his hand and scooted away, Levy looked up at the sky, staring at the bright silver moon glowing overhead. "When they aren't there anymore, everything just falls apart, your world just shatters." She shook her head and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Speaking from experience?" Gajeel asked. He remembered that she had been in the system too, she probably knew exactly what it was like for hope to constantly be stripped away. She nodded her head and looked at him, shrugging her shoulders. "It seems you kept it together though."

"Yeah," Levy agreed with a smile and glanced over her shoulder. Through the window of the diner, Levy spotted her friends and Wendy all laughing as they were talking silly pictures on their phones. "It's all because of them."

"The friends who let you get drunk and lost you?" Gajeel inquired with a smirk.

"They had a momentary lapse," Levy defended waving the matter off.

"If you say so," Gajeel replied with a shrug. "I guess they aren't that bad though, Wendy seems to like them." He watched Wendy as she was joking around with Levy's friends. It put a smile on his face to see Wendy so happy.

"This is the start of a beautiful friendship," Levy commented and Gajeel looked back to her. She had a sparkle in her eyes and an innocence in her smile, showing that she was hopeful that he would agree with her. "Don't you think?" she asked.

"I do," Gajeel admitted with a single nod.

Levy beamed. "Good, I'm glad." She sank back down in the seat and rested her head back against his arm that was stretched across the back of the bench. Gajeel looked at Levy through the corner of her eye and smiled to himself.

"They you two are!" Lucy exclaimed as she walked out of the diner. "We are taking a vote."

"On what?" Levy asked, turning around on the bench. her knees rested on the wood and she hand her hands on Gajeel's arm for some support.

"What to do next," Lucy said as she walked over to them. "Bowling or roller skating?"

"I was never good at roller skating," Levy said.

"I vote roller skating," Gajeel chimed in. Levy's mouth feel open and she glared at him. "This will be fun to watch."

"Alright, roller skating it is," Lucy smiled as she ran back inside to let the others know that it had been decided.

"Your mean, I take back all the nice things I said and thought about you," Levy mumbled, causing Gajeel to chuckle.

"I thought tonight was all about having fun and making friends," Gajeel said as he stood up and held his hand out to Levy. She took his hand and he pulled her up onto her feet. "I'm doing what you suggested, Pip." He winked at her, and Levy rolled her eyes, but laughed.


	11. The Past, The Future

**Author's Note: **Hello everyone! So sorry for the delay I haven't had anytime to write this weekend, I'm behind on everything. Thankfully today I will have a good chunk of time to catch up. So if you are reading my other story **Heart by Heart **I hope to have that one updated in a day or two. Otherwise, enjoy this chapter and I can't wait to read all of your wonderful reviews. Also a very big and special thank you to _**Czar Ryno** _for your absolutely wonderful review, I dedicate this chapter to you. Thanks to everyone! See you soon!

* * *

><p><span><strong>The Past, The Future<strong>

Levy clung to the wall on her skates while Wendy, Lucy, and Natsu were racing around the ring. Juvia and Gray were playing in the small arcade that was tucked into a corner, which was where should would rather be. She knew that eventually she was going to fall and it was going to be embarrassing. Jellal and Erza hadn't skated yet they were busy playing air hockey, those two could get really competitive at times. It was like the whole world faded away and all that existed was the two of them and whatever game they were playing. Levy sighed in relief just as she reached the opening in the wall to get out of the ring. She thought she was finally going to sit down and not worry about hurting herself, but Natsu and Gajeel both had other ideas.

"No! Don't you dare!" Levy squealed as Natsu pulled her away from the wall. "Natsu!" Levy snapped as she flailed her arms about the moment he let her go. He skated in circles around her, laughing as he watched her looking like a newborn giraffe trying to walk for the first time.

Just as she was about to fall onto her ass, someone came up behind her and pushed her back onto her feet. Levy gasped and started to fall forward, but then they yanked her back into an upright position. She stood in the middle of the ring with her arms out to her sides and legs part farther than normal. Her breathing was quick and her heart was racing after fear of nearly face planting into the ground.

"You do suck at this," Gajeel commented as he skated in front of her, holding his hands out in the event that she started to fall. "Come on, it's time we take you off the wall." He gestured for her to take hold of his hands.

"I'm already off the wall!" Levy snorted.

The next thing she knew was she was being pushed forward. She screamed as she nearly fell, but Gajeel grabbed her and kept her up. He skated backwards while pulling Levy along and Natsu pushed her.

"See this is nothing, Levy," Natsu said with a grin.

"Whatever! The second you let go I'm gonna bust my ass," Levy retorted, glancing back at the pink haired guy. He laughed lightly and stopped pushing Levy, allowing Gajeel to just tow her around. "Are you going to let me go?" she asked, looking back at Gajeel.

"Yes," he said and let go of her hands. Levy gasped and started to panic as her legs started to get wobbly. She was about to fall, but Gajeel caught her again for the umpteenth time. He chuckled lowly and shook his head as she skated beside her while holding her hand to keep her up and steady. "But I'll catch you," he assured her with a weak smile.

Levy bit her lip and blushed faintly, thankfully the dim lighting hid it well. "How sad that someone with a bum leg is a better skater than me," she commented with a small laugh as they made their first lap around the ring. Gajeel shrugged his shoulders, mentioning he was just really awesome. Her brown eyes rolled, but she still laughed. "This is a whole new side to you."

"I guess," he paused as he tried to think of what to say, "I guess I'm having fun." He smiled, a genuine smile that made Levy's heart skip a beat. She nodded and told him that she was happy to hear that.

For the next few minutes that just skated side by side. She was starting to get the hang of it, but she didn't want to tell him that. He might just let her hand go if she mentioned it. Gajeel started to go a little faster and Levy smiled as the wind blew through her blue hair. A smile crept onto her face, but it quickly faded when Gajeel let her go. She was about to flail her arms about, but Gajeel steadied her and skated in front of her.

"Show off," Levy chided as he skated backwards around the ring so he could see her. He shrugged his shoulders and told her she was just jealous. That prompted a scoff and roll of her eyes, but she was a little jealous. She'd rather be showing off her impressive skating skills that bruising her behind.

"Hey, look at you! You're getting better," Wendy greeted as she skated up beside the two of them. Levy nodded in agreement, saying she hadn't fallen yet. The teen chuckled and looked over to Gajeel with puppy dog eyes.

"What's that look for?" he asked, raising a brow at her. They were out, they were having fun, they met new people, he made sure she was fed and paid for. There was no need for those puppy dog eyes, she only gave him those eyes when she wanted something. Normally money, or she was about to asking something bad. "What did you do? How much is it going to cost me?"

"I'm insulted, Gajeel," Wendy commented, sounding wounded as she put a hand on her chest. She acted like she never did anything, but Gajeel explicitly remembers when she was a senior in high school she got into a verbal confrontation with a teacher, leading to her expulsion. He and Lily both had to go down and talk to the teacher and principal to allow her back into the school. Thankfully it was dropped and made into a suspension for a week.

"Senior year of high school," Gajeel retorted.

Wendy scrunched up her nose. "He deserved every word," she snapped, causing Gajeel to roll his eyes. "And this is nothing bad, but you have to promise you won't get mad, okay," she wiggled a finger at him and smiled sheepishly.

"When you ask someone not to get mad that means it's bad," Gajeel pointed out with a little bit of annoyance. Levy listened to the two bicker, she could see how they were just like a brother and sister. It made her smile, knowing that they had each other in place of a biological family. "So I'm not going to promise anything."

"You're so difficult," Wendy muttered with an eye roll.

"So I've been told," Gajeel replied as he looked pointedly at Levy, who smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "Just tell me what you stole, broke, or did before someone else tells me." There was a hint of protectiveness about Gajeel when it came to Wendy, Levy thought it was very sweet.

"Okay, if you can't promise not to get mad, at least try not to," Wendy said with a hopeful look. Gajeel shook his head and told her to speak. "I invited my boyfriend."

Those words didn't sit right with Gajeel. His lip twitched as he just stared at Wendy. They had stopped skating and were now standing in the middle of the ring. Levy looked to Gajeel, who was eyeing Wendy curiously. She wondered if he was just being overprotective, she wanted to say something, but figured it was best not too. Wendy was eighteen years old, she was going to be boy crazy and have hormones. As long as she was safe about it, Levy didn't see a problem in her bringing her boyfriend.

"Boyfriend?" Gajeel repeated.

"Yes," Wendy nodded.

"Your," he pointed at Wendy. "Boyfriend?"

"Yes." She nodded again and smiled weakly, hoping it would keep him calm.

"The twenty-seven year old?" Gajeel inquired.

Levy mouth dropped. "He's twenty-seven?" she asked completely in shock. Now she understood why Gajeel looked a bit irked by Wendy having invited her boyfriend. Levy wasn't one to doubt love, but she couldn't see how someone fresh out of high school was dating someone that was almost a decade older. "How did you meet him?" Levy asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"He is a boxer like Gajeel," Wendy explained with a smile.

"Rivals?" Levy teased as she looked up at Gajeel. He wasn't very amused at all, his red eyes were fixed on Wendy. The teen just sighed and placed her hands on her hips. "Hey, it's okay. The more the merrier, right?" Levy asked, putting her hand on Gajeel's arm.

"You think that it's okay for an eighteen year old to date a twenty-seven year old?" Gajeel asked, raising a brow at Levy.

She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it quickly. Wendy was an adult, she could make her own decision, but she couldn't deny it raised a few red flags. Why wouldn't a twenty-seven year old date someone closer to his age? Wendy was a beautiful girl, no one could deny that. Still though, certainly the twenty-seven year old could find someone his own age.

"Well," Levy started as she cleared her throat. "I mean, it's a little weird, but if they're happy and there's no malicious intent." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Thank you," Wendy said with a smile and narrowed her eyes at Gajeel, who merely snorted.

"Natsu," Gajeel called out as the pink haired man was skating past them with Lucy. "Why would a twenty-seven year old date an eighteen year old?"

"Sex," Natsu responded not missing a beat.

"Seriously," Wendy scowled. "Don't side with him."

"I'm not, I'm stating facts," Natsu replied with a shrug. "I mean, you're young, sexy—"

"Watch it," Gajeel chided.

"Yeah," Lucy glowered.

Natsu laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "You asked, I just answered." He turned to Lucy, who had her hands on her hips and eyes narrowed at him. "I love you," he tried with a smile, skating towards her for a kiss. She simply skated away, but he continued to follow her.

"I don't think you seeing someone a decade older than you is a good idea," Gajeel said to Wendy. "But obviously you aren't going to listen, so you'll most likely sneak around and that's worse. Don't get cute." He waved a finger at the teen, and she smiled brightly and lunged forward to wrap her arms around him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Wendy sang as she clung to Gajeel, who rolled his eyes and pried her away.

"Yeah, yeah get out of here," he said as he pushed her away. She giggled and skated away, leaving Gajeel and Levy alone in the middle of the ring. "That girl is just looking for trouble."

"You must love her a lot," Levy said.

Gajeel looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "She's a pain in the ass, but yeah I guess I do," he started skating in circles around Levy. "You just gonna stand there?" he inquired as he started to make his circle wider.

Levy looked down at her skates and then back to Gajeel. He nodded for her to skate towards him, holding out his hand. She licked her lips and nodded back to him, slowly moving her feet. The wheels of her skates slowly rolled forward, but she kept her balance. Gajeel laughed as Levy wobbled towards him. When she took hold of his hand he pulled her along around the ring.

Lucy was standing by the snack bar, watching Levy and Gajeel skating around. They looked like an odd pair for he was so huge and she was a petite thing. In a way it was even beautiful. She was like a delicate bird that had been caged for years and Gajeel was the man to open the cage and set her free. There was torment within Gajeel though, Lucy could see the struggles he'd been through. He put others at a distance never allowing them to get too close, but when she stood there watching them. Lucy truly believed that Levy could be the one to do it. She smiled warmly as the two went round and round the ring.

"I know that smile," Natsu said as he walked over to her holding a can of soda. He handed it over and leaned back against the counter beside her. His charcoal eyes fell onto Levy and Gajeel as they were skating around and talking to one another. "You think they're good together, don't you? Wanna play match maker?" He wiggled his brows at her and laughed.

"It's definitely crossed my mind," Lucy admitted as she opened up her soda and took a quick sip. "They're so cute. They're like Beauty and the Beast."

"You talking about Levy and Gajeel?" Natsu asked.

"Of course, they fit," Lucy said with a smile.

"Fit?" her boyfriend repeated with a raised brow.

She nodded her head. "I bet they get together by Christmas."

"I want in on that bet," Wendy chimed in as she skated over, holding the hand of a fairly handsome gentlemen. He was tall, lean build, short cut dark hair, and stunning green-blue eyes. Lucy blinked a few times as she stared at the man, wondering how Wendy had met such a man. "Natsu, Lucy, this is my boyfriend Doranbolt." She introduced with a smile, looking up at her boyfriend.

He waved to the two before him and smiled. "Nice to meet you," he greeted.

Lucy thought he seemed friendly enough, maybe a little too old for Wendy, but still pleasant and easy on the eyes. "So how did you two meet?" the blonde asked, looking to Wendy then to Doranbolt.

"I trained at the gym Gajeel was at," Doranbolt answered, and Lucy's mouth opened slowly turning into a smile. "And I'm a regular at the restaurant she works at." He looked down at Wendy, who nodded in agreement and brushed her hair behind her ear.

"Is that what the scar is from?" Lucy asked, gesturing to the three scars on the side of Doranbolt's face. He laughed lightly and touched the marks and shook his head.

"It's actually from a bar fight when I was sixteen."

"Bar fights, huh? Sounds promising, Wendy," Gajeel grumbled from behind them. Everyone turned around, Gajeel had his arms crossed over his chest and eyes locked on Doranbolt. "So you're my little sister's boyfriend?"

"Yeah, it's good—"

"What's wrong with you?" Gajeel interrupted, causing Doranbolt to furrow his brows and stutter a bit. Wendy glared at Gajeel and shook her head, telling him to be nice. "Why aren't you dating someone your own age?"

"Well…" Doranbolt muttered, looking to Wendy for some assistance.

Gajeel just stared at Doranbolt, waiting for his answer. When he couldn't come up with one, Gajeel smirked and put his hands behind his back. "I don't like you dating my little sister, Doranbolt."

He swallowed. "I can see that," Doranbolt said with a fake laugh. "But I think if you give me the chance you'll see I'm a nice guy and I'm not going to hurt Wendy. I really care about her, so just let me prove it."

Gajeel nodded slowly and pursed his lips. "Okay," he agreed. Levy had just walked up beside them, holding her rented skates in hand.

"Okay?" Doranbolt repeated in question.

"I'll give you a chance to prove it," Gajeel explained and looked at the watch on his wrist. "You got one minute."

"Gajeel!" Wendy hissed. "Stop it."

"Okay, okay," Gajeel said, smiling at Wendy. "Two minutes."

Wendy rolled her eyes and shook her head. Doranbolt cleared his throat and looked down to Wendy, who shrugged her shoulders. Obviously this was not going how either of them thought it would be. Levy could see the two were stressing out over it. The whole thing was reminding her of when she first met Gajeel, pestering her and trying to get under her skin. He was really good at it too, and Doranbolt seemed to be really feeling the pressure.

"Come on, Gajeel, don't be so hard on him, he seems like a good guy," Levy said, hoping she could ease him up a bit.

Gajeel glanced at Levy and slowly looked back to Doranbolt. "A minute and thirty seconds," he stated as he looked at the hands on his clock. When he looked back at Doranbolt, he could see he was trying to figure out what to say. "I'm waiting."

"Okay, I want you to know I've never done this before," Doranbolt explained, gesturing between himself and Wendy. "I mean, I've been in relationships before. I've just never done it with someone as young as Wendy."

Gajeel stared with a raised brow.

"And by 'it' I meant dated…I've never dated a young woman like Wendy. We've never done 'it'…we've done stuff, but uh…" Doranbolt stopped himself when he realized he was not helping his case at all. Wendy was beet red and was shaking her head in sheer embarrassment. Lucy, Natsu, and Levy were all staring with their mouths hanging wide open.

"You are not off to a good start," Gajeel informed the man before him with a shake of his head. "Hopefully you'll redeem yourself before the nights over." He looked to Wendy, who sighed softly. Gajeel turned and walked away, leaving Wendy standing next to Doranbolt.

"He's just giving you a hard time," Levy said with a smile. "He did the same thing to me."

"Oh, you were dating Wendy too?" Doranbolt teased, causing Levy to stifle a laugh and shake her head.

"No, I'm his doctor," she explained, and Doranbolt's mouth came open as he stared at the petite young woman. He and Wendy had talked about her on several occasions, he never expected her to look like she was sixteen or seventeen years old. "I know, I'm small and all, but I'm twenty-four."

"Well it's a pleasure to finally meet you," Doranbolt said with a smile. "Wendy talks about you and Gajeel frequently." He looked at Wendy, who nodded in agreement. Levy had blushed at the thought of them talking about her and Gajeel. They weren't a thing, sure she liked him...a lot, but they weren't anything more than friends and even that was pushing it.

"Why don't you guys go get skates and have some fun, I'll try to keep Gajeel's mind off of you," Levy offered.

"Yeah go make-out somewhere," Lucy teased, nudging Levy in the ribs. Doranbolt and Wendy both laughed, while Levy narrowed her eyes at her roommate. "I'm only teasing," Lucy assured Levy with a wave of her hand.

"Uh-huh," Levy snorted as she walked away to go find where Gajeel had wondered off too. He had been doing so well, she hated for him to get all moody and angry again. She wanted to him to make friends and progress. He needed to put the past behind him, and he needed to be happy for his friends. If Wendy really liked Doranbolt, and he was a good man to her, nothing else should really matter.

She walked around bare foot, looking for the tall pierced man. He should have been easy to spot, but he hid himself pretty well. When she got over to the table they had claimed when they first arrived, she only spotted Juvia and Gray talking amongst themselves and just past them in the arcade area, Erza and Jellal were playing on the pinball machine. Levy smiled, happy to see her friends having a good time.

"You looking for Gajeel?" Gray asked, noticing Levy standing a little ways away and just watching them. She nodded her head in response, and Gray pointed over to the front entrance. "He said he had to make a phone call, he's outside." Levy thanked Gray and put her skates down on the table before making her way towards the front entrance to check on Gajeel. She could tell that he wasn't one who handled changed very well.

The chilly air washed over her. She felt her skin turned into little bumps and quickly wrapped her arms around herself. Her brown eyes scanned the area for Gajeel, but she didn't see him. At the end of the building under a fluorescent light, Gajeel was standing with his back to her. His phone was pressed against his ear and he was speaking too quietly for her to hear what was going on. At first she wondered if she should make her way over to him, or just go back inside and wait. Unfortunately, before she had the chance to make the decision, Gajeel had turned around and spotted her. He had stopped talking and stared at Levy for a moment before looking away.

She gave him a small wave and took a few steps closer, shivering in the chilly autumn air. Obviously her fairy costume was not keeping her warm at all. Gajeel hung up his phone and shoved it into the back pocket of his ripped jeans. He tilted his head as Levy started walking over to him and smiled kindly.

"You're going to get sick, Pip," Gajeel said as he pulled over his jacket and draped it over her small frame. She smiled and thanked him as she slipped her arms through the sleeves, her fingers tips didn't even poke out.

"I just came to check on you," Levy said as she looked up at him.

"And you aren't wearing shoes," Gajeel pointed out as he looked down at her manicured feet. "Let's go inside." He nodded to the doors.

"Are you okay?" Levy asked, stopping him.

"Yeah," Gajeel replied and put his hand on Levy's shoulder, forcing her to turn around and walk towards the door. "Come on, I don't want you to get sick."

"Awe, you do care about me," Levy teased as she started to walk.

Gajeel was about to make a witty comeback, but someone called his name. Levy and Gajeel both turned to the speaker. The person had two-toned hair that was tied up high on his head. He wore a orange coat that was lined with fur and had an interesting marking going across his face. Levy tilted her head slightly, but squeaked when Gajeel pulled her back behind him. She could see he was tense, his eyes narrowed and body stiff. It was as if Gajeel was about to attack the man for coming around, but he remained still.

"Down boy," the man spoke with a chuckle.

"What do you want?" Gajeel glowered.

"Just checking in," he explained, glancing to Levy. She shrank back a bit, not liking the way he stared at her. There was an air of danger about him, she just had this gut feeling he wasn't a good person. She began to wonder how Gajeel even knew someone like him. "I see you're out with your little friend."

"Totomaru," a deep voice came followed by some footsteps. Gajeel's eyes widened as the figure came into the light. Tall, heavily muscled, and dark skinned. Levy blinked a few times, this guy was about three inches taller than Gajeel and way more brawny. She grabbed onto Gajeel's arm, and glanced at her. He could see she was getting a little uncomfortable. The man who had just approached bore a nasty looking scar going down his left eye.

"Well look who it is," Totomaru chuckled lowly as he looked to the buff man.

"You should leave," the buff man said huskily. "This is a family place, no need to cause any kind of scene."

Levy furrowed her brows, wondering what the buff men meant. Obviously all three of the men before her knew each other, but Gajeel didn't seem happy. She could see he was uneasy and maybe it was because these were people from his past. While she didn't know much about his past other than it was rough. He was being protective though, she could tell he was trying to keep her out of it.

"No scenes," Totomaru assured them both, holding up his hand to show he was innocent. Levy looked up to Gajeel, who narrowed his eyes in disbelief. "Just checking in." Totomaru glanced at Levy, who stared right back at him. Gajeel stepped in front of her, blocking Totomaru from her view.

"Leave," Gajeel growled. "Now."

"What's with all the hostility, friend?" Totomaru asked with a smirk.

"I don't want you around my friends," Gajeel explained simply with a halfhearted shrug. "So leave."

"Fine, fine," Totomaru replied waving the matter off. "But here's a message from Porla." He held up a manila envelope and walked towards Gajeel, holding it out to him. When he took the envelope, Gajeel told Totomaru to go. Nodding, the man quietly left, apologizing for disrupting their night.

"Porla?" the dark skinned man inquired with a hint of annoyance.

"You can leave too, this has nothing to do with you." Gajeel stared at the dark skinned man, who only sighed and shook his head. "I gotta go," he turned around and looked at Levy. "I'll see you later."

"Gajeel," Levy said, grabbing his free hand before he could walk away. "Where are you going? Just stay." She bit her lip when he looked at her. He smiled weakly and ruffled up her hair. As he walked away, Levy called his name again, but he didn't stop nor did he look back. She frowned and sighed in defeat, pulling his jacket closer around herself. Her brown eyes drifted to the dark skinned man, who was also watching Gajeel walk away.

"I'm sorry," the man said, gaining Levy's attention. Her eyes ripped away from Gajeel's shrinking figure and too the tall buff man approaching her. "I'm Pantherlily, Gajeel's coach."

"Oh," Levy breathed in surprise and smiled at him. "Nice to meet you, I'm Levy McGarden, his doctor." She bowed slightly, and Pantherlily smiled nodding his head knowingly.

"How's he doing?" Pantherlily asked.

"Well," Levy swallowed, "I thought things were turning around, but he's pushing people away again."

Lily nodded his head slowly and glanced back in the direction that Gajeel had walked off towards. "If Porla is involved I wouldn't be surprised."

"Who is Porla?" Levy inquired with a raised brow.

"Not a good person," Wendy chimed in and both of them turned to her as she walked out. "Where's Gajeel? Did you talk to him Lily?"

"I was going to, but Totomaru showed up before I got the chance," Lily explained, causing Levy to furrow her brows in confusion. There was obviously something going on, but she wasn't sure what. "I think Gajeel is helping Porla again."

"What? Why would he? He can't!" Wendy exclaimed, appearing very worried. Levy frowned, she didn't like not knowing what was going on.

Lily shrugged his shoulders. "I'll talk to him, don't worry."

"Wait," Levy interrupted. "What's going on?"

"It's a long story," Wendy explained.

"I got time," Levy replied with a small shrug. "I can't help Gajeel unless I know what's going on." She looked to Lily, who nodded in agreement.

"Okay, let's go inside and we'll tell you," Lily said, gesturing for them to lead the way.


	12. Ignorance is Bliss

**Author's Note: **Hey guys! I'm so happy we've hit 100 reviews on this story. That is so exciting to me! Thank you all for the wonderful support, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

><p><span>Ignorance is Bliss<span>

**-Four Years Ago-**

_ "You okay?" Gajeel asked as he sat on the weight bench in Pantherlily's Gym. For the past couple of weeks Rogue had been complaining of headaches and dizzy spells, but this day seemed worse than normal. He was sluggish and kept rubbing his eyes, he looked a little pale and just not himself at all. It was like he hadn't gotten any sleep in the past couple of days. Needless to say Gajeel was worried about him. Everyone was concerned, Rogue was usually quiet, but he did have a goofy side to him. Lately that side hadn't been around, he just been an empty shell._

_ "Yeah," Rogue mumbled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Just got a headache." He smiled weakly and ran his fingers through his choppy black hair. Gajeel frowned, that wasn't exactly the answer he cared to hear. Pantherlily had been pestering him to go to the doctor, but Rogue being a typical young guy with the 'I'm invincible' complex didn't do it. This time Gajeel was going to intervene. Headaches weren't supposed to last a couple of weeks, it was time Rogue went to see a doctor._

_ "You need to go to the doctor, Rogue. This doesn't look like it's getting better," Gajeel said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "You got everyone worried, me included, I'm gonna be done with my workout in another half hour. Why don't we go to the doctor and have you checked out."_

_ "No, no," Rogue answered, waving the matter off. "I'm fine." He stood onto his feet and looked back at Gajeel smiling weakly. Just as he started making his way over to the water fountain across the way he started to stumble. Gajeel furrowed his brows and quickly jumped to his feet as Rogue fell onto the floor and began to seize._

_ "Lily! Call an ambulance!" Gajeel shouted as he got to Rogue's side. The young boy thrashed about and started to foam at his mouth. Gajeel didn't know what to do, but in an instant, Lily was right beside him and told Gajeel to get Rogue on his side. Wendy came running over with her cellphone pressed against her ear, watching in fear as her friend went through a violent seizure._

_ "Hang in there, Rogue, come on," Gajeel began as Rogue's body slowed and stopped moving all together._

Levy listened to the story closely and frowned as Wendy explained that after Rogue was taken to the hospital and after several scans and tests they discovered he had a tumor in his brain. Lily took over and explained that it was a very costly procedure and there was a high risk that Rogue's life could become altered. The person they knew could be lost due to the placement of the tumor, and there was no way of telling what would happen until he woke up after surgery. Levy shook her head and brought her coffee up to her lips.

The three had wound up going to Pantherlily's Gym. It was only three blocks down, and it was late so no places were open now except for bars. They were sitting in Lily's office, drinking coffee. Levy didn't realize how much Gajeel had truly been through until now. She knew he was in the system and had a hard time with it, but she didn't realize the kinds of things he had to do in order to help his friend Rogue. The lengths Gajeel went through was inspiring and moving to Levy, she nearly wanted to cry.

"So this Totomaru guy works for Jose Porla, who helped Gajeel pay for stuff?" Levy asked, making sure she understood what was going on. Obviously, there was much more to Gajeel than she realized. He wasn't a bad person though, he just did the best that he could with what he had available to him. She could only imagine how he was feeling with his dark past catching up to him. "But you don't know why he's come back? Gajeel had paid him off already?" Levy connected the dots.

"Yes," Lily replied with a single nod.

"And how would Gajeel pay him back?" Levy asked. "Money? Service?"

"Both," Wendy said softly, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Jose Porla is a crooked man. He's involved in so many things, he would make Gajeel help him." She shrugged her shoulders and sank back into her seat.

"Why would he be back though? Isn't Gajeel pretty well off?" Levy asked. Gajeel was a four time champion of the Underground Boxing world, she doubted he was truly struggling for money. He seemed rather conservative about it, not like most rich celebrities that spent their money like they didn't know what to do with themselves. When she remembered Gajeel's town home, it was grungy and rundown, he probably could live somewhere much nicer. He didn't have a vehicle, a maid, or anything lavish. It was just him and Wendy, and Wendy worked to begin with.

"Gajeel is very well off, or at least he was, I'm not sure about now. I still couldn't imagine him contacting Jose though," Lily explained as he rubbed his chin, trying to think of any reason Gajeel would contact Porla.

"And I'm assuming if we asked Gajeel, he wouldn't say anything?" Levy pressed, even though she knew the answer to her own question.

"He's always been that way, never wanting to be a burden," Wendy explained sadly as she shook her head. "He's an idiot for trying to do it all alone."

"He's trying to protect you," Lily interjected, causing both girls to look at him. He shrugged his shoulders and sat back in her chair on the other side of the desk. In the corner of his desk, Lily had a picture from the first year Gajeel was crowned the Champion of Magnolia's circuit. Wendy was on his shoulders, Rogue was standing beside them, and Lily was holding the trophy up. Gajeel, Wendy, and Rogue were his family, they meant so much to him. They were all so different from each other. Rogue was always quiet and reserved, Gajeel was stoic and bold, and Wendy was sweet and charismatic. "Gajeel's always been stoic, bold, on his own. He doesn't know anything else."

"Well he shouldn't be like that," Levy pouted, crossing her arms over his chest. "He's so…infuriating!" She threw her hands up in the air and hopped up from her seat. Wendy smirked as Levy started pacing, saying how Gajeel's attitude and insecurities were hurting him more than anything else. Lily stifled a laugh and shook his head, he was surprised that she cared so much. Gajeel had made quite the impression on this young woman. She was genuine too, which was even better. Gajeel needed someone like that in his life.

"We know," Wendy chimed in.

"I'm gonna go find that jackass," Levy huffed as she started to slip his massive jacket back on. She was going to make him tell her everything, there was gonna be no more secrets. She wanted him to open up, being closed off was not helping him at all.

"Where are you going to look?" Wendy asked as Levy zipped up the jacket.

"Every bar in the area," Levy replied as she started walking to the door. When she pulled it open and walked down into the gym area, Wendy and Lily both looked at each other.

"Should we go with her?" Wendy asked.

"I'm pretty sure I know where Gajeel is," Lily admitted as he stood up from his seat. Wendy furrowed her brows and waited for him to say where. "Rousseau's." He slipped on his coat and waved for Wendy to follow him out. They needed to catch Levy before she got to far. Just as they got out of the gym, Lily called out to Levy just before she was about to go around a corner. The blue haired girl stopped and turned to face the two of them.

"He's going to be at Rousseau's," Wendy said as she approached Levy, pulling her hood up. "We'll take you."

Levy nodded her head and thanked them as they started heading in the opposite direction she had been going. Wendy explained that Rousseau's was where Rogue and Gajeel used to go all the time to play on the billiards and darts. If he was angry or upset, Rousseau's would always be the first place to look for Gajeel. She further explained that Gajeel would drink himself into a stupor if no one was there to stop him. That part really worried Levy, but Lily assured both girls that they would reach Gajeel before he could do that to himself.

About ten minutes of walking they found themselves at the corner of Main Street and Lucky Lane, which was the home of Rousseau's. According to the family that owned the bar, they said it was the center of down town Magnolia. For years, Rousseau's had been the breeding ground for many stars in the music industry. Levy had always heard about its antique westernized saloon style. Everyone always talked about Rousseau's, in fact, Loke claimed it was because of Rousseau's that he decided to open his own bar. Levy could already hear the jazz music going and the clinking of beer pints. Lily pulled the door under the old fashioned wooden sign and nodded for the girls to walk in.

As they entered the bar, Levy ran her fingers through her hair and looked around. It was warm, smelled like Bailey's, and there were roughly a total of a dozen people inside. There were a few dark colored wooden tables scattered about, a small stage area were a man on a saxophone was playing, and a beautiful wooden and glass bar lining the whole back wall of the room. There must have been a hundred bottles of liquor on the glass shelves behind the wooden bar, along with a dozen different beers on tap. On the far right end of the room on a lifted platform area were four billiards, and just behind those was a shuffle board. On the left side of the bar was a ratty old jukebox and a couple of dart boards hung on the wall and a few poker tables were set out. It was actually a very nice place, Levy really liked it. The ambiance was relaxed and homey, something she could enjoy.

Her brown eyes fell on a lonely figure sitting at the far left end of the bar with a glass of whiskey in his hands. She sighed softly and nudged Wendy, pointing to Gajeel who was staring into his glass. The teen frowned, she could tell from the doorway that Gajeel was troubled. Lily put a hand on Levy's shoulder and told her that she should talk to him while they would hang back. The last thing Gajeel would want is for Wendy and Lily to talk to him, an outsider would be different. Levy was nervous, but she nodded her head and made her way over to Gajeel.

"What can I get for you?" the bar tender asked as Levy approached the bar.

"A coffee with some Bailey's please," Levy ordered as she climbed onto the stool right next to Gajeel. He didn't even look at her as she sat down. She licked her lips and swallowed hard, glancing at him. Gajeel let out a breath and picked up his glass, downing the last half like it was nothing. He lifted a finger to the bar tender, who nodded and went to pour him another.

Gajeel grabbed the glass and lifted it to the bar tender as a thanks before taking a quick sip. When he put the glass back down, he cleared his throat and glanced at Levy. "Lily brought you here to talk to me?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder at Lily and Wendy as they sat down in a booth. Levy nodded slowly, but explained it was her idea to look for him. Gajeel pursed his lips and took another swig of his whiskey. "Why did you wanna find me?"

"Because I'm worried about you," Levy answered simply. The bar tender placed her coffee in front of her and she reached for her card that was tucked away in Gajeel's pocket.

"Put it on mine," Gajeel told the bar tender, who nodded his head and went over to the register.

"You don't have too," Levy told him, but Gajeel waved it off. "Thanks."

He nodded his head and stood up. "Why are you worried about me, Pip?" he asked. Levy turned around in her seat and stared at him. She didn't understand why Gajeel refused to believe that people could care about him. He obviously had a rough start in life, but he was genuinely a good person. Levy saw the diamond underneath, and she would continue to polish him until he shined. "I'm not worth it, you should put that energy elsewhere." He stood in front of her, his hip bones were brushing against her bare knees.

Levy glanced at his hips and her knees before looking into his daring red eyes. "You are worth it," she told him, and Gajeel raised a brow. "You act cold and heartless, but you aren't. You're a good person." She sat up a little straighter in her seat, but she was still leveled with his lips.

Gajeel put his hand on the back of Levy's head and pulled her forward gently. Levy's heart skipped a beat and a blush rose to her cheeks as Gajeel's lips pressed against her forehead. She closed her eyes to the warmth of his touch. The last thing Levy expected was for Gajeel to kiss her like that. When he pulled back, Levy's eyes slowly opened and she looked up at him. She bit her lip nervously as Gajeel stared at her. The expression on his face was different from any look he'd ever given her. There was compassion, gratefulness, and love in his eyes. Emotions that Levy didn't think Gajeel would be willing to show.

"I'm firing you as my doctor," Gajeel whispered in her ear.

"What? Why?" Levy stammered, completely shocked by his words. Her first patient was firing her! "But...you..." she muttered and shook her head. If it went on her record that her first patient requested a different doctor; what did that say about her?

Gajeel smirked and cupped her face in his hands. Levy stared into his eyes and placed her hands over his own. "Because," he began as he leaned towards her face. Their breaths mixed together, Levy's eyes slowly started to close, and Gajeel studied every curve and plane of her lovely face. He closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly before pressing his lips against hers.

She melted into the kiss. It was so much better than her dream. He was warm, powerful, and feral as his lips meshed against her. His lips were smooth, his hands traveled from her face, down her neck, and to her small waist. Levy arched her back when he pulled her close, her knees were positioned on either side of his waist. She put her hands around his neck, kissing him fervently. Like she needed him. Like she wanted him. Gajeel's hand went to her thigh, where he gripped it tightly. This moment was just like a dream, she was expecting to be rudely awakened only to find herself with wet panties in her bed. That moment never happened though, it was just Gajeel and her, kissing with a hot passionate desire.

Gajeel finally pulled away from Levy, slightly breathless as he rested his forehead against hers. Levy's eyes were still closed, her lips swollen ever so slightly, and her cheeks were flushed a rosy pink. When Gajeel pulled away from her, he gently stroked the back of her head. "I'm firing you as my doctor because I can't do that if you are my doctor." He pecked her lips again and smiled kindly as his thumb gently brushed against her cheek. "You're different, and I can't seem to bring myself to forget you."

Their eyes locked, and Levy smiled happily as she wrapped her arms around him. Gajeel stiffened, but quickly let go of his insecurities and hugged her back. For so long, he had held onto this anger with the world because of the rough start he got in life. In that moment though, it all just went away. All that anger and frustration that he'd been holding onto was slowly leaving him. Maybe it was Levy's sincerity that broke through his walls, or maybe it was because she like Rogue, believed in him the way others couldn't. Wendy and Lily loved him, and they cared deeply for him, but they didn't believe in him the way Rogue did. Rogue would always tell Gajeel that, just because they had rough starts in life didn't mean that it had to always be like that. He always told him that he believed that they weren't gone, that they got to start over.

"I don't want you to forget me," Levy said as she touched his face. Gajeel's red eyes closed and he turned towards her touch. "You gotta hold on, Gajeel. And have a little faith." She smiled at him and sighed softly.

"I'll walk you home, your friends are probably worried," Gajeel told her. Levy nodded her head and watched as Gajeel walked across the room. She chuckled when Gajeel placed his palms down on the table where Lily and Wendy had been more or less, spying on them. "Take her home." Gajeel pointed at Wendy and looked to Lily, who smiled weakly and nodded. "And make sure her boyfriend don't sneak in through a window or something."

"Oh brother," Wendy scoffed and rolled her eyes. "He already went home."

"Sure he did," Gajeel snorted as he pushed away from the table.

"Gajeel," Lily spoke gravely, gaining the boxer's attention.

"I know," Gajeel answered quietly before walking away. Lily watched Gajeel as he went over to Levy.

"Let's get you home, Wendy, it's late," the dark skinned man said as he stood up from the booth. Wendy looked at him for a moment before nodding her head. She got out of the booth and looked back to Gajeel and Levy. The blue haired girl waved to them, and Wendy smiled before waving back.

"They told me about Rogue," Levy explained, looking back to Gajeel as he paid for his tab. "And they told me about Jose Porla."

"I really don't wanna talk about that, Pip," Gajeel muttered as he took his card back from the bar tender and shoved it into his wallet. He looked at Levy and nodded for her to follow him. She obliged and scooted off of the seat, following Gajeel to the front door. He held the door open for her and she slipped out of the bar.

When they were both outside, they walked side by side in silence. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but Levy wasn't sure if she couldn't keep quiet. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but perhaps it wasn't the right time. She had just won over his trust, she didn't want to push him away again. Levy glanced at him and slipped her arm through his. He glanced down at her and smiled weakly.

"I've done a lot of things," Gajeel began, "things I'm not proud of, but things I had to do at the time—or maybe I didn't—but I did it anyways. The life of a street kid is never easy, knowing your parents didn't want you, bouncing around multiple foster homes, some seemed like they could work and others were worse than a group home. I've dealt with drunks, druggies, gamblers, and everything in between. It never got easier, you just get used to it,"

Levy knew exactly what he meant, she'd been there and done that. Thankfully she didn't get into the mess that Gajeel had, but she understood what he meant. The system was hard, nothing hurt more than knowing you were unwanted, not knowing where you came from, or why it was you. Levy was taken away from her parents when she was young, she hardly remembered them. She was four years old when she was taken away, her parents were supposedly bad people. Growing up, her therapist would tell her some people weren't meant to be parents. That never satisfied her questions though.

"For the past twenty-years I never bothered to look up my parents. I was taken from my parents, it wasn't because they didn't want me," Levy explained and cleared her throat. "I should look for them, I know I should. But I keep wondering all the time, why didn't they ever come looking for me."

"If you wanna know, you should look," Gajeel advised with a shrug of his shoulders. "You deserve to know why they haven't come looking for you, and why you were taken away."

"I'm scared too," Levy muttered.

"Why?" he prompted with a raised brow.

Levy sighed heavily. "Ignorance is bliss."

Gajeel chuckled and shook his head. If he could look for his birth parents he would. "If I were you, I would look." They rounded a corner and were only a few blocks from Levy's street. Gajeel stopped walking, and Levy stopped a step ahead of him and looked back. "Listen, Pip, do you know what you're getting yourself into?"

"What are you talking about?" Levy asked, he was changing the subject entirely now.

"Me," he replied softly, putting a hand under her chin. He looked deeply into her eyes, the intensity was so powerful. She felt her knees going weak, the breath leaving her lungs, and her heart pounding against her chest. "Because I'm a bad person to get mixed up with."

Levy stepped up to him and pushed herself onto her toes, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled him down and pressed her lips against his. Gajeel's arms quickly wrapped around her petite frame, his lips meshing against hers. It was sweet, but there was a hunger in the kiss. She gently bit his lower lip, tugging at it slightly. A growl escaped him, and he reached for the back of her thighs, lifting her up with ease. Her legs wrapped around him, and she slowly pulled away from him. Levy's slender arms rested on his broad shoulders, her eyes boring deeply into his red ones.

"I'm a big girl," Levy said. "I can handle myself," she whispered before capturing his lips in another quick, but passionate kiss. Gajeel smirked against the kiss and put Levy back down.

"Let's get you home," Gajeel said as he put his arm around her shoulder, leading her on down the road.

In a car across the street, Totomaru watched the couple walk on by. He smirked and pulled out his cellphone. His fingers typed a short message and he pressed the send icon. Once the message was sent, Totomaru put his phone back into his pocket and started the car. They now had a weakness on Gajeel, and Totomaru couldn't help but laugh. Gajeel knew they were coming for him, why would he bring her closer?

"What's your plan, Gajeel?" Totomaru wondered as he drove away.


	13. It's Not a Date!

**Author's Note: **I apologize for the delay you guys, I have not had the time to write! Hopefully now with winter break just a week away, I'll be able to write more. enjoy the chapter!

* * *

><p><span><strong>It's Not a Date!<strong>

"When you said you were firing me, I thought you had planned to get another doctor," Levy said as she pulled her gym bag out of the trunk of her car. She slung her bag onto her shoulder and pushed her trunk door close. When she turned around, she crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Gajeel. He had 'fired' her as his doctor and never took up a new one, in fact he'd left the program all together. "Your leg still needs work, you know." Levy walked past the silent, stoic man standing in front of her.

He turned on his heels, shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket, and followed after her. They were just around the corner from Levy's apartment. It had been three weeks since they had kissed and she found out about his past. In those three weeks, Levy had gotten to know Gajeel much better.

"I know," Gajeel finally said as they started heading up the stairs. "Pip."

Levy stopped at the nickname he'd given her. She was halfway up the first flight of stairs and looked back at Gajeel. He was still standing at the bottom and looked up at her with a playful smirk on his lips. Levy raised a brow and shook her head. "What?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Nothing," he replied, waving the matter off.

Levy's brows furrowed. "Did you want to come up?" she asked, pointing up the flight of stairs.

"No, I'm meeting someone in a bit," Gajeel explained.

"Then why did you come here?" Levy inquired, not that she minded. She actually enjoyed seeing him, they were in a strange place. They weren't dating, but they weren't just friends either. They were somewhere in-between and Lucy was doing everything in her power to get Levy to admit she wanted to date Gajeel. And in truth, Levy did want something more, something serious, something special. However, in the past three weeks, Levy had learned that Gajeel was damaged and he needed to decide when he was ready for something like that. Needless to say, Levy was starting to get impatient.

"Just checking on you," Gajeel answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

Levy blinked a few times. "Gajeel-"

"Nothing's wrong," he assured her before she could go to worrying about it. Of course, he knew that she was always worried about it. She may not have showed it often, but she knew about Jose Porla's cronies following him. He wanted money, but Gajeel wasn't going to pay him. He was waiting for the right moment. Not that Gajeel could wait much longer, the longer he waited the more risk he put Levy and Wendy at.

"I'm worried about you," Levy told him as she leaned against the metal railing of the stairs.

Gajeel nodded knowingly. "Don't be," he told her with a weak smile. "I'll see you later." He lifted her hand from the pocket of his jacket and started walking away. His scuffed up black boots crunched the snow on the sidewalk as he made his way down the road. Levy watched him until he had vanished around a corner. She sighed softly and turned around before jogging up the stairs.

Levy unlocked the apartment door, finding Lucy snuggled up on the couch with a pen and journal in hand. The blonde smiled and greeted Levy as she shut the door and dropped her bag on the floor. She kicked off her shoes and huffed as she plopped onto the couch. It had been a long day and she wanted to kick back and read a book.

"Started writing again?" Levy asked with a smile as she curled her legs under herself.

"Inspiration just came to me thanks to your boyfriend," Lucy replied with a giggle.

Levy grabbed one of the throw pillows and chunked it at Lucy's head. "He's not my boyfriend!" the blue haired woman snapped and rolled her eyes as she got off the couch. Lucy was beaming when Levy looked back at her, which made her wonder what was going on. "Okay, well I'm going to shower now," she said as she grabbed her bag and made her way over to her bedroom.

"Yeah, you should definitely do that," Lucy agreed with a cheeky grin. Levy put a hand on her hip and gave her friend a questioning look. "Really, go."

Levy opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. Waving the matter off, Levy made her way to her bedroom down the small hallway. She heard Lucy chuckling and furrowed her brows. With a shake of her head, Levy twisted the knob to her bedroom door and walked into her room. She flicked the switch for her lights and went over to her neatly made bed. Her honey brown eyes spotted something lying at the foot of her bed. Titling her head, Levy walked over to the item on her bed. She didn't recall leaving anything out before she left that morning.

Levy's eyes widened when she was finally at the foot of her bed. Her gym back slipped from her shoulder and fell with a soft thud. A small smile found its way onto Levy's face as she stared at the beautiful knee length dress. She grabbed the hanger it was on and lifted it from the bed. Butterflies, lots of butterflies started to flutter in her stomach as she admired the dress. Her eyes drifted back to the bed where she found a handwritten note. Levy picked up the note and laid the dress back down on the bed.

"Wear this tonight, I'll pick you up at 6. Gajeel," Levy read aloud and felt a blush rise quickly to her cheeks. "Oh...my...god..." she breathed and shook her head, stifling her laughter. Biting her lip, Levy looked back to the dress one more time and beamed. It was a simple dress, but in it's simplicity it was breathtaking. She new exactly what she would pair with the pastel pink ruffled dress for the evening.

Levy looked at the digital clock on her nightstand. The block numbers revealed that it was four o'clock on the dot, giving her two hours to get ready. She let out a breath and trotted over to her closet to gather the rest of her ensemble for the evening. First her hands touched the soft fabrics of the clothes in her closet. Normally Levy wasn't one to dress up, but she did have a few items that would compliment the dress. She couldn't really believe that Gajeel had bought her a dress, she assumed Wendy helped him out.

Her hands found a black slouch knit cardigan. A smile tugged at her lips as she pulled it from her collection of clothes in her closet. Levy went back to the dress and pulled it from her bed. She put the slouchy cardigan over the dress and raised a brow, it was still missing something. Levy snapped her fingers and walked back over to her closet grabbing a silver braided belt and a beige knit scarf.

"This too," Lucy said as she walked into Levy's room.

"He came here to bring this didn't he?" Levy asked, holding up the dress.

"And this," the blonde smiled as she held out a small black velvet box. Levy's eyes widened, and Lucy giggled as she brought a pair of black boots and the box to her. "It was so cute, seeing a big burly guy like him tripping over his words and blushing." Lucy handed the items over and Levy stifled a laugh. There was a glow in Levy eyes, and Lucy could tell she was ecstatic.

"I'm really impressed," Levy admitted with a beaming smile. She put the boots down on the floor at the foot of the bed. Carefully and slowly, Levy opened up the black velvet box and bit her lip. "Oh wow! It's gorgeous," the blue haired girl gushed as she lifted a silver chain with a masquerade mask pendant glittered in small little diamonds.

"Your boyfriend is so sweet, it's amazing," Lucy smiled and clapped her hands together.

"He's not my boyfriend," Levy sighed with an eye roll.

"He bought you a dress, jewelry, and is taking you out to dinner," Lucy listed on her fingers. "You better make him your boyfriend before I steal him away," the blonde teased, elbowing Levy in the ribs.

"You have Natsu," Levy pointed out.

"Do I hear jealousy?" Lucy teased, causing Levy to roll her eyes again. "Get ready for your date." She patted her friend on the shoulder and went to leave the room.

"It's not a date!" Levy squeaked just before Lucy walked out.

"I'm sure you'll be screaming that when y'all are having hot, steamy sex on that bed," Lucy chirped as she pointed to Levy's bed.

"Get out!" Levy barked, pointing out the door. Lucy waved and left the room, giggling all the while. The blush on her cheeks was redder than wine. Could it really be a date? Was Gajeel going to ask her to be his girlfriend? All the thoughts were bubbling in her mind, she almost couldn't contain herself. She would just have to be patient and see what the night would bring her.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>Levy stared at herself in the mirror. Lucy had convinced her to do something a little special by putting her hair in lose ringlet curls. Her make-up was flawless with perfect black noir winged eyeliner, rosy cheeks, curled lashes, plump red tinted lips, and a dewy glow. Needless to say, even Levy thought she looked like a princess. Letting out a breath, Levy placed a hand on the necklace Gajeel had got her and smile brightly. She flicked off the bathroom light and wandered out into the living room.<p>

"Levy! You look amazing!" Juvia gasped when the blue haired woman walked out of the bathroom. Natsu and Gray, who were currently glued to the couch with game controllers in their hands glanced over at her. While Levy had been getting dressed and doing her makeup, Lucy had told the other three all about Gajeel buying Levy the dress and jewelry to take her out on a nice evening out. "That dress, your hair, are you trying to get laid?"

"Juvia!" Levy squealed with a laugh.

"That's the dress he brought and look at the necklace," Lucy hollered from the kitchen. She was preparing dinner for them. Juvia got up to see the necklace and gasped. It was a lovely piece, she knew in that moment that Gajeel was crazy about Levy. "It's beautiful, right?" Lucy asked as she walked out of the kitchen with a smile on her face. Juvia could only nod in agreement before telling Levy that Gajeel was a definite keeper.

"Guys stop, seriously," Levy mumbled, waving the matter off.

"I thought you liked him, Levy," Gray said right after Natsu had paused the game they were playing. "He seems to care about you."

"I know, but I don't want to call it anything until it is something," Levy explained with a small shrug of her shoulders. She just didn't want to get her hopes up. Jet and Droy had loved her dearly up until the very end and then they just left her. Since that happened, Levy hated getting close to people and she certainly wasn't about to call herself and Gajeel a thing when it clearly wasn't. There was a possibility, but Levy didn't want to gush about it and get all the butterflies in her stomach and it really mean nothing. She wanted to be sure that Gajeel really cared about her and wanted to be with her.

"So when y'all have sex tonight will it be something then?" Natsu asked with a cheeky grin and wiggled his brows.

"Shut-up!" Levy scolded the pink haired man, who only chuckled. "Listen, I know you all are excited, but I don't want to get my hopes up for nothing."

"Levy," Lucy sighed with a shake of her head. "You guys have kissed, his friends like you, we like him, he bought you a beautiful necklace and a cute dress, he's taking you out to dinner, that isn't nothing," the blonde tried to explain.

"Yeah well, me and Jet had all that and more and looked what happened," Levy muttered bitterly.

"Don't hold onto that," Juvia said softly placing a hand on Levy's shoulder. "Whatever happened in the past is over, it's time to start fresh. Don't hold onto your past and ruin what could be an amazing relationship."

"Juvia's right," Gray chimed in. "Holding onto what Jet did, is only going to ruin future relationships to come. Besides, your hopes are already up, so just soak it in."

"No they aren't," Levy snorted.

"Yeah they are otherwise you wouldn't be trying to convince yourself otherwise," Gray stated with a smirk. Levy rolled her eyes and sighed heavily before walking to her room to grab her cardigan and scarf. Just as she entered her room there was a knock on the door. Her heart skipped a beat, and she looked to the clock on her nightstand.

"Hey Gajeel, come in," Lucy greeted after she had opened the door. Levy could hear everyone greeting Gajeel and complimenting him on the necklace and dress he had gotten for her. She smiled and wrapped her scarf around her neck, slipped on her cardigan and cinched it to her waist with her silver belt. The boots Lucy had given her were perfect for the dress especially with the beige colored socks that were scrunched just below her knees.

It was finally time for her to walk out and she was completely and utterly nervous. Her heart was racing, her blood pulsing loudly in her ears, and her palms were starting to get a little sweaty. She didn't know what she was getting so nervous, it was just Gajeel, they'd be around each other dozens of times. This time it was different though, Levy was fully aware that this was going to be a romantic and fun evening. They weren't meeting for a physical therapy session, she wasn't drunk needed to be watched over, they weren't going out with a group of friends, it was going to be just herself and Gajeel Redfox.

"Hey, what are you doing? He's here," Natsu said as he poked his head into Levy's room.

"I know, I'm coming," Levy replied as she turned on her heels and looked at Natsu. He gave her a thumbs up and she nodded. When he walked away, Levy tried to collect herself by taking a few deep breaths and letting them out slowly.

Levy stepped out of the room once she didn't feel so dizzy and walked into the living room. Thankfully, Gajeel's back was to her since he was talking to Gray and Juvia. That didn't last long though when Juvia spotted her and informed Gajeel that she'd made her entrance. The tall, burly, long haired man turned around slowly and smiled at Levy. She put her hands behind her back and swayed a bit where she stood. Gajeel's red eyes slowly explored her appearance before stopping at her face and locking eyes with her.

"You look...I mean you...you are..." Gajeel managed to mutter out, which made Levy giggle. She felt a little better knowing and seeing that he was just as nervous as she was.

"Well I hope the ends of those sentences are good," Levy spoke up brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh, they are," Gajeel assured her with a low rumbling laugh from deep within his throat. Levy nodded and looked at her friend who were watching the two of them like they were on display or something.

"Okay," Levy cleared her throat. "Let's go." She grabbed her small purse that was sitting on the dining room table.

"Have fun you two!" Lucy chirped just as they were exiting the apartment. The moment the door closed, Lucy reached into the pocket of her jeans. "Ten bucks says they have sex here tonight." She held up some money and placed it on the breakfast bar.

"Here? No, Twenty says Gajeel's," Gray betted as he pulled out a twenty from his wallet and dropped it on top of Lucy's.

"No way, he's got a hotel room rented," Natsu chortled as he dropped twenty bucks into the pile.

"I'm with Gray on this one," Juvia said as she placed down a ten.

"Forgot my keys," Levy said as she barged back in. She stopped when she saw the money on the counter and her four friends staring at her blankly. Gajeel walked in through the doorway and saw the money as well. "Seriously!" Levy snapped, stopping her foot on the ground.

"No," Natsu laughed sheepishly as he grabbed the money and tried to hide it. Gajeel chuckled and shook his head while Levy waved the matter off to go get her keys from her room. "We...well..."

"It's cool," Gajeel said.

"Let's go so they can return to their betting," Levy announced as she grabbed hold of Gajeel's arm and dragged him out of the apartment.

The moment the door slammed, all four of her friends exchanged looks.

"I feel a little guilty," Lucy mumbled.

"Extra ten bucks into the pot," Natsu said nonchalantly as he dropped some cash into the pile.

* * *

><p><strong>-oOoOo-<strong>

* * *

><p>His shirt was tightly hugging his torso and chest, revealing smooth clean planes. She couldn't help herself. Her eyes were just mesmerized by the flexing of his muscles, the bulge of his arms, the strong outline of his jaw, and his perfectly straight nose. Gajeel might as well have been a god, or perhaps a fallen angel with those mysterious sienna colored eyes. She could imagine him like that, a fallen angel with beautiful black wings darker than the night skies. His long hair was long and tousled down his back reaching just short of his behind. Levy's eyes traveled further down his powerful thighs, built legs, and boot clad feet. She was in complete awe of him.<p>

"Best kept secret in the city," Gajeel said as he turned around and walked over to Levy.

In his hands he held up two christmasy paper coffee cups. Her lips curved into a small and her eyes glittered with excitement. She didn't figure Gajeel had a romantic side to him, but they had walked through a beautiful snowy white park illuminated with multi-colored Christmas lights. As Gajeel handed her the cup, Levy pulled the lid off and smelled the sweet caramel scent drizzled with whip cream and chocolate shavings. She brought the cup to her lips and took a little sip. Gajeel had been right, it was the best kept secret. She had never heard of this little vendor, but his coffee was delicious. It was warm, creamy, and smooth, it soothed her right down to the core.

"This is amazing," Levy commented before taking another small sip, careful not to burn her tongue. "How did you find this place?" she asked, looking up at him as he drank his own coffee.

"You find a lot of places when you walk," Gajeel replied with a small shrug of his broad shoulders. "I actually found it when I was coming to get Wendy from the diner. I didn't trust her back then."

"You don't seem to much now either," Levy pointed out with a chuckle as she pressed the lid back down onto the coffee cup. "After all, last time we saw each other you were following her."

"That guy is using her," Gajeel affirmed with a shake of his head. He gestured for Levy to start walking with him further towards the heart of the city.

"I don't know, he seems to genuinely care about Wendy," Levy countered with a small smile. "Besides they're really cute together."

"Cute?" Gajeel made a sour face and shook his head. "Cute would be some guy her age."

"Oh Gajeel," Levy sighed, rolling her eyes. She looped her arm through his and rested her head against his arm. He glanced down at her and smiled slightly, pleased that Levy felt comfortable enough to latch onto him. "You care for her, and that's sweet."

Gajeel nodded slowly. "She's all I got."

"That's not true," Levy replied as she pulled him to a halt. Gajeel turned to face her and furrowed his brow. "You have Pantherlily, and me." She smiled at him and batted her lashes at him.

"I have you?" he asked her, placing a hand on her face. Levy closed her eyes to his warm touch and turned towards it slightly.

She opened her eyes and looked back to him. "Yes," she whispered. "You have me." Gajeel's hand left her face and slowly made its way down her shoulder, down her side and to her hips. He smirked devilishly and yanked her forward, causing her to gasp as he lithe frame pressed against his muscled form.

Slowly, passionately, and hungrily, Gajeel kissed her.


	14. It's Official

**Author's Note: **I know most of you are wanting a sex scene between Gajeel and Levy, and it will come, in time. For now just enjoy the fluff. Thanks for all your support, I hope to have another chapter up this weekend!

* * *

><p><strong><span>It's Official<span>**

Levy couldn't stop thinking about the way Gajeel kissed her. It sent her over the moon and amongst the stars, but now she was falling. When they first met, Levy had been placed at the shore line with the water barely touching her toes. The tides had risen though, and she hadn't even realized she was neck deep in water. She wanted love, but she didn't expect it to take over so quickly. Perhaps she should have prepared herself, or maybe this was the beauty of love. The whole walk to this little restaurant, Levy kept wondering if Gajeel was feeling the same way. Had the water nearly drowned him too?

"For two," Gajeel said to the host behind the espresso colored podium. He nodded his head and smiled, asking for the two of them to follow him. Gajeel took hold of Levy's hand, lacing his fingers with her own. She wondered if he realized that he had her heart racing and butterflies in her stomach.

"Here you are, please enjoy," the host said as he presented them a lovely table for two tucked away in a little nook with a large window overlooking a small snow covered garden. Gajeel pulled out a chair for Levy. She smiled and took a seat, surprised that Gajeel was so refined. He looked like the type that was coarse, but he was really quite the gentlemen.

The restaurant was quaint and warm. The walls were gold and rustic, beautiful large galvanized silver pots were stationed in various areas in the restaurant filled with large black and white tree branches and wrapped in white lights that made the room even more romantic. In the center of each table in a small glass square vase were red and white roses with a single white stick candle coming out of the center. The tables were draped in a light gold colored table cloth, the silverware was polished to perfection, and the plates were a modern square shape in the color of ivory. Before Levy even had the chance to ask Gajeel how he found this place or what it was called, a man dressed in a fine suite walked forward with a bottle of red wine. He introduced himself politely and poured each of them a sampling amount.

It was delicious. The aroma was very fruity and the taste was delicate and fresh. Levy enjoyed her wines, not that she got to drink them often, but this was by far the most tasteful. The waiter placed the bottle down on the table, saying it was compliments of the house. Levy raised a brow as the waiter excused himself.

"How did you know about this place?" Levy asked Gajeel, taking another small sip.

"What? I can't be fancy?" Gajeel teased with a chuckle as he swirled the wine around in his glass. Levy giggled and leaned back in her chair, awaiting a proper answer. "Okay, you caught me. This place is called Ivory and it's owned by Pantherlily's mother-in-law."

"Oh? I didn't know Lily was married," Levy said with a smile. "So what's good here?" she asked.

"The grilled salmon is good if you like fish, Wendy always raves about it. Lily always gets some sort of chicken dish, and I normally get the prime rib," Gajeel said as he opened up a menu and showed where each were located to Levy. "You're not one of those girls who eats a side salad and calls it quits are you?" he asked with a raised brow.

Levy chuckled. "No, I can eat."

"Good, cause I prefer a girl with an appetite," Gajeel told her with a smirk.

"So the rumors are true," a voice came from behind him. Levy looked up from the menu and smiled when a blonde man dressed in a white button down and a silk red tie approached. The sleeves of his shirt were pushed up to his elbows, his eyes were an electric blue color, and he was undeniably handsome. "Gajeel Redfox has returned to Ivory." The blond beamed and clapped Gajeel on the shoulder.

"You're still here?" Gajeel asked without even looking up. "I see Shagotte hasn't come to her senses, or maybe Lector has been doing you a favor."

"That hurts a little, Gajeel," the blond retorted with an eye roll. Gajeel snickered and closed his menu and turned to the blond. "I'll be your server for the evening," the man smiled happily, causing Gajeel to frown.

"Oh no," he snorted.

Levy was a little confused, but assumed the two knew each other.

"What a beautiful young woman," the blond said as he went over to Levy. Gajeel raised a brow as the server to her hand and placed a quick kiss on it. Levy started to blush, and Gajeel shook his head. "Sting Eucliffe," he introduced with a slight bow of his head.

"Levy McGarden," she replied back politely, glancing down at her hand that was still being held by Sting.

"And do tell me how such a lovely girl, such as yourself, is having a dinner here with Gajeel?" Sting asked, gazing into Levy's eyes.

Gajeel shook his head. "Don't you have a girlfriend? Leave mine alone," the dark haired man grumbled. Levy looked at Gajeel and blushed, he had more or less just referred to her as his girlfriend. The blond snorted and let go of Levy's hand. "That's better, now why don't you take our orders like a good server would?"

"So would you two like for appetizers?" he asked, standing between the two.

"The calamari sounds good," Levy said, pointing to the item on the menu. Sting nodded in agreement, telling her that was an excellent choice. He told them he would bring them some water as well when he went to put their order in. "Thanks," Levy said politely.

Sting was about to leave, but he stopped and put a hand on Gajeel's shoulder. The dark haired man sat up straighter and looked to Sting. "It's good to see you again, really." He smiled and walked off before Gajeel could say anything to him.

Levy watched him go and looked back to Gajeel. "You two are friends?" she asked.

"Rogue used to work here," Gajeel answered. "Sting was his best friend."

Levy's eyes widened in surprise. "And this is the first time you've come back since his passing?" she asked gently, hoping to not stir up too much turmoil.

"Yeah," Gajeel replied with a small nod.

Levy smiled and reached across the table, placing her hand on his. Gajeel stared at her hand for a moment before giving it a gentle squeeze. When he looked up at Levy, she nodded her head and told him that she was proud of him for coming.

"Gajeel?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"You called me your girlfriend," she stated, and Gajeel stifled a laugh. "Was that your way of making it official?"

"Actually," Gajeel let go of her hand and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his phone and started to search for something. Levy raised her brow and watched him closely, wondering what he was doing. He turned his phone off a few seconds later and shoved his phone back into his pocket. Levy tilted her head, not understanding what was going on. Her cellphone beeped in her purse and she looked down at it, then back to Gajeel. He nodded for her to check her phone, and she plucked it from her purse.

It was an email, from Gajeel. Levy looked at him in confusion. He smiled at her as her eyes drifted back to her phone screen. She opened up the email and noticed that it appeared to be some sort of contract.

"I'm confused," Levy said with a giggle. The contract appeared to be a privacy policy along with and expectations policy and some procedures.

"That, Pip, is your contract to be my own personal physical therapist for when I enter the circuit again in three months," Gajeel explained to her, and Levy's mouth dropped. "You'll travel with me and my team to every match and will train me exclusively. Meaning, you aren't allowed to have any other clients at the time."

"You're hiring me?" Levy summed up in a surprised voice, and Gajeel nodded his head. "What does that have to do with you calling me your girlfriend?" she asked with a small smile.

"I don't want to be away from you," Gajeel told her in a sultry voice that nearly made her melt. "Will you be my girlfriend, Levy?" he asked her with a seductive smile that made her heart skip a beat.

She was beaming as he looked at her with that smile on his face. "Of course," Levy giggled and got up from her chair and walked around to him. She placed her hands on his face and kissed him deeply. When they pulled apart, Levy was about to walk away, but Gajeel stood up, took her hand and pulled her back. Levy spun around and felt her breath escape her lungs as Gajeel leaned down and kissed her again.

"Alright love birds," Sting interrupted.

Levy and Gajeel pulled apart. The blue haired girl giggled as she rested her forehead against his chest. Gajeel kept his hand on her lower back, keeping her close before glaring at Sting in annoyance. "You just cut your tip in half," Gajeel commented, but smiled.

"You're worse than Wendy and her boyfriend," Sting retorted with a chuckle as he put the water glasses down on the table.

"What?" Gajeel asked. "What about Wendy and her who?"

"You know, that other guy from Lily's gym...Doranbolt, I think it is," Sting said, tapping his chin. Levy looked away from Sting to Gajeel, who was fuming and shaking his head in disapproval. "No matter, your calamari will be out shortly. Have you come to a decision on a main course?"

"I'm gonna beat that little girl," Gajeel huffed. "Prime rib." He handed the menu to Sting, who chuckled.

"The grilled salmon," Levy ordered and handed her menu to Sting. He nodded and told them he'd be back in a few minutes. The moment he was out of earshot, Levy turned back to Gajeel. "I think Doranbolt is a good guy, even though he is much older than Wendy. She's happy with him."

"Yeah, I know, but it's just..." Gajeel trailed off.

"I understand," Levy assured him. "She's important to you and you don't want her to get hurt. The important thing is to be there for her if that happens, but you can't stop her from loving who she wants to love."

Gajeel looked into Levy warm brown eyes, and nodded slowly. "I guess...you're right."

"You guess? No! I am right, that's just how this relationship is gonna work," Levy teased, winking at him.

Gajeel laughed lightly and brought his water glass up to his lips. "We'll see about that, Pip," he told her, wiggling his brows a bit. Levy blushed and shook her head.

* * *

><p>Gajeel and Levy were walking back to his town home. Her arm was looped through his and her head was resting against his muscled forearm. He invited her over for some hot chocolate, which sounded nice to her. The night was rather quiet, hundreds of Christmas lights and garlands were wrapped around the wrought-iron lamppost and people had decorated their front doors beautifully with gold, silver, red, and green. The walk back to Gajeel's place was nothing short of romantic and magical. The best part about it all was that it had begun to drizzle a light snow over them.<p>

"Dinner was great, the coffee, the walk, everything about tonight," Levy said suddenly, looking up to Gajeel. "I didn't know you had a romantic side under all your rugged demeanor, but I guess underneath your hard exterior there is a soft center." She could see Gajeel was not agreeing with her, which made her laugh.

"You make me sound so...so...not me when you say that," Gajeel chortled.

They arrived at his front door and he pulled out his keys to unlock the door. He pushed the door open and gestured for Levy to enter first. She smiled and walked past him and sniffed the air. It smelled sensual, which made her wonder if this was planned. There was also soft music playing in the background and from where she stood in the foyer, she could see a warm glow coming from the living room.

"Were you planning something?" Levy asked as she turned around to look at Gajeel, who was taking off his coat.

He raised a brow at her in question. That was when he too noticed the scent, the candlelight glow, and some slow playing music. Gajeel's eyes narrowed, he knew that Wendy knew better. Of course, that didn't mean she still wouldn't do what he was figuring. He huffed and shook his head, marching right past the confused girl beside him.

"Don't even move!" Gajeel barked as he stood at the threshold of the hallway and living room. Levy blinked a few times and walked over to him and gasped, covering her eyes quickly. A blush rose to her cheeks as she had seen a half-naked Doranbolt and Wendy trying to scramble out of the living room. "If you were going to be sneaky you should have at least gone to your room," Gajeel scolded with a roll of his red eyes.

"I didn't think you'd be home so soon," Wendy tried with a sheepish smile as she held one of the throw pillows over her breasts. She crossed her legs, attempting to hide her lacy panties, but it wasn't working so well.

"This is not what it looks like," Doranbolt tried, but Gajeel only scoffed.

"Really? Cause it looks like a whole lot of something," he gestured to Doranbolt's nearly nonexistent attire aside from his socks. Levy pressed her lips together and walked behind Gajeel. She hid her face behind his back trying not to laugh. This was obviously, Gajeel's worst nightmare, but she could see that he was going to take advantage of the situation.

"We didn't do anything," Wendy said softly, swiveling in her place. Her cheeks were so red.

"Well you got naked, so something happened," Gajeel replied with a shrug. Levy poked her head from around him and smiled apologetically to Wendy. "And in my house…on my couch no less."

"Can we please put our clothes on?" Doranbolt asked.

Gajeel chuckled and shook his head. "Get out of my house and you," he pointed to Wendy, "upstairs in your room, now."

"But—"

"No, don't even," Gajeel snapped before Wendy could even begin to protest. She huffed and grabbed her clothing and slipped it on quickly. The moment she was dressed, she looked at Doranbolt, who was pulling on his own clothes. She mouthed an apology to him, but he shook his head assuring her it was perfectly fine. He understood Gajeel's concern and dislike for him, he just hoped he would be able to prove he wasn't a bad guy.

When the two had finally departed, Levy walked around to stand in front of Gajeel. She could see the frustration and amusement dancing across his face. "Don't know if you should be mad or amused?"

"Well walking in on Wendy and her older boyfriend about to have sex is not exactly how I envisioned the end of our date," Gajeel informed her with a small smile and she giggled. "So how about that hot chocolate?" he asked, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"That sounds perfect," Levy said with a sparkle in her eye.

Outside across the street, parked by the curb was a lone car lightly dusted in fresh snowy powder. Sitting inside the car with the radio on a low volume and a coffee in the console, Totomaru watched Gajeel's house closely. He could see that Gajeel had taken a true liking to the young doctor. Jose Porla would be happy to hear such news, because now he definitely had good leverage over Gajeel.

"Hey," Totomaru spoke into his cellphone. "I'm coming in, tell Porla I have news."

* * *

><p>"He's fallen in love with her," Jose Porla smirked as he sat down at his desk, lacing his fingers together. His elbows were propped onto the dark chocolate colored desk. He was at his warehouse office, the very warehouse he committed various crimes that would have put him behind bars. Of course, Jose had never gotten caught with any of these crimes. Forgeries, stolen art, priceless heirlooms, Jose Porla was a brilliant thief and con artist and the men and women who worked for him were just as talented. He had spent many years putting together a team of elite thieves that could talk their way out of a prison.<p>

Jose Porla wanted three things in life: money, power, and an elite team. Several years ago, Jose had the pleasure of meeting a young teenager by the name of Gajeel Redfox. At first, Jose thought he was any run of the mill troublemaking teenager. That is until he witnessed Gajeel getting the better of one of his men in a con they performed on the street for petty cash. With a keen eye and a rugged look, Jose Porla set his sights on making Gajeel a member of his team. Unfortunately for him, Gajeel came with a price and a good head on his shoulders. Despite the hardships Gajeel had been put through, he refused to con people out of their money. He claimed he would live his life the right way and work honestly like everyone else. Jose Porla had different plans though.

"Do you really need this guy? He doesn't seem worth the trouble," Totomaru said with a snort, crossing his arms over his chest. Jose glanced at the man and snickered. Totomaru hadn't joined the team until after Gajeel had left when he paid off his first debt. "Just get the money and forget about him."

"That's easy for you to say, Totomaru," Jose commented, unlacing his fingers and leaning back into his leather chair. "Gajeel was a jack of all trades, you only have a few selective skills. I let him get away once, but I will not allow it again."

Totomaru stared at Jose for a moment. Before he had joined Jose Porla's gang of thieves, Totomaru had crossed paths with Gajeel. There was no doubt Gajeel had skills as a con artist, but Totomaru felt there was something more. He felt as though there was something between the two, something big.

"There must be something else," Totomaru stated bravely, knowing he would probably get reprimanded. "This isn't about the money he owes or his skills, anyone can see that there is something more."

"Mind your tongue, Totomaru," Jose seethed, narrowing his eyes.

"So there is more," Totomaru muttered.

"Follow the girl," Jose commanded, ignoring the rest of the conversation and changing the subject. "We must wait for the opportune moment to strike."

"Yes sir."

"Boze," Jose called out and a large bald olive skinned man came forth. "Watch over, little Wendy. I want to make sure we give Gajeel an offer he cannot refuse."

* * *

><p>Gajeel stood on the street corner of Pantherlily's gym. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket and a red bandana was tied around his head. His boots appeared to be two different tones of black, one dusted and the other like oil from the melted snow. He let out a breath, the vapors swirling about his face and vanishing into thin air. The wind blew gently, causing a few strands of his dark hair to wave in front of his cerise eyes. Snow crunched from behind him and he turned his attention to the sound.<p>

"Come on," Pantherlily said, walking behind Gajeel and towards the entrance of the gym. The ex-boxer licked his chapped lips and followed behind the dark skinned man. He pulled his keys off the belt loop of his jeans and unlocked the front door. When he pulled the barred door open, he gestured for Gajeel to enter. As Gajeel entered, Lily followed behind him and quietly closed the door, flicking on all the lights. The gym had been a second home to Gajeel, he had to admit it was nice to see it again. It was nostalgic moment, it had been nearly a year since he'd step foot inside of Lily's gym.

A smile appeared on his face. "It hasn't changed at all," Gajeel said with a chuckle. "Looks great, Lily, really." He turned to his coach for a moment before looking back across the gym.

"Thank you," Lily said with a nod as he too looked over the gym that he had run and owned for nearly two decades.

The gym was large and wide spread with plenty of space over the shiny maple wood floors. Along the wall before them, parallel from the entrance were various sponsor banners as well as a six foot shelving system in the center of the wall that was decorated with photos, medals, trophies, and plaques. Many boxing champions had come to train at this gym, Lily was one hell of a coach.

In the center of the room in a straight line were three boxing rings, on the left wall perpendicular to the entrance was a wall of mirrors and two large cinderblock pillars that were wrapped in blue cushioned mats with human shaped dummies on all four sides. Gajeel had spent countless hours practicing on those dummies as well as practicing various forms of martial arts in front of that wall of mirrors. To the right side wall, across the room from the wall of mirrors were five bench presses, two sets of weight sets, and four large punching bags. Gajeel walked towards those punching bags passing up two spin bikes, along with a couple of weight machines, and the small rest area that contained a water fountain, fresh towels, and a snack bar.

"So what made you decide to come back?" Lily asked, standing by the front entrance.

Gajeel chuckled and turned on his heels. "Who said I'd come back?"

Lily tilted his head and stifled a laugh. "I know you didn't come here to talk, that isn't you," the man replied as he dropped his bag down on a seat of bleachers station in front of one of the boxing rings. "So let's go." Lily climbed into one of the rings and shrugged of his jacket.

Gajeel nodded slowly and shrugged off his own jacket, tossing it onto the wooden bleachers that were painted green. He climbed into the ring and stretched his arms a bit before getting into a defensive stance. Lily smirked and got into a stance himself, steady and calm, prepared to either attack of defend.

"Still got some fight in you, old man?" Gajeel asked, trying to rile up his opponent.

"You'll have to do better than that to insult me," Lily retorted. "I thought I'd taught you better."

Gajeel laughed, but went in for a quick jab. Lily dodged easily by sidestepping him, his arms still up to defend. "Looks like you still got it."

"Don't forget, I taught you everything you know," Lily commented as he went in, swinging with his right arm then going with an uppercut. Gajeel was light on his feet and able to dodge both hits, but the uppercut nearly got him. Lily was fast, even though he was a little old to be a boxer, the forty-three year old moved like a twenty-five year old would. "For someone with a bum leg and being out of practice, you still know your stuff."

"Feels good," Gajeel admitted with a smile before going in for a swing. Lily didn't dodge, instead he blocked the hit and jabbed Gajeel in the ribs, wrapping an arm around his neck to keep him from escaping. After four good hits, Gajeel had managed to break free. Instead of retreating, Gajeel swung at Lily's face, grazing his jaw and causing the dark skinned man to stumble a bit.

"You have always been surly," Lily commented as he shook off the hit.

Gajeel snickered and rolled his shoulders. "Alright, no more playing around," he replied and moved at lightning quick speeds. Lily evades his first two strikes and goes in for his own powerful swing, his muscles contracting and relaxing with each movement. Gajeel swiftly dodges and spins around on his heels, punching Lily right in the jaw. The power of the strike caused Lily to stumble several steps. Red eyes locked against dark brown ones as the two carefully stepped. The fight was almost like a dance, both were fluid, but each move calculated, precise, and powerful.

Lily had regained himself, and struck Gajeel twice in the ribs. The young man had always had a resistance to being hit. He could always take them and deal them like it was no one's business. It was because of that aggression and raw animal power that made Gajeel Redfox a true threat in the ring. Even the most seasoned fighters respected Gajeel's ability to take a hit. Leaning left and right, Lily dodged a flurry of swift jabs and just when Gajeel was about to pull back, Lily went in for a strike.

The dark haired man ducked under the swing and came back fast with a powerful swing. Lily evaded and started to pant, feeling beads of sweat pool on his brow and the back of his neck. He didn't have near the stamina he used to, but he refused to back down. The two circled each other, their eyes focused, muscles tight, and sweat building on their bodies. Though it seemed like they had only been fighting a short while, they had been in the ring for almost fifteen minutes.

Gajeel swung, Lily blocked.

Gajeel sidestepped, Lily matched his moves.

"I'm surprised you're keeping up," Gajeel said with a smirk.

Lily snorted. "You're one to talk with a bum leg."

"It's gotten better," Gajeel admitted. After his sessions with Levy and talking about his past with Rogue, he felt like it was time to get his career back on track.

Lily nodded, happy to hear such news. "That girl, she's helped you in more ways than one." He went in for a punch, but Gajeel knocked his hit away and pushed him towards the cords of the arena. When Lily turned back around, Gajeel was smiling. A genuine and happy smile, a smile that Lily hadn't seen him share in a very long time. "You're happy now."

"She's helped," Gajeel said with a shrug.

"Out with it, Gajeel," Lily pressed. "Why'd you come here?"

"You really gonna make me say it?" Gajeel grumbled as he lowered his arms back to his sides. Lily smirked and nodded his head, dropping his own arms. The two stood on opposite sides of the ring, just staring at each other. "I…well…I want you to…" he sighed and looked at Lily, who was simply eating it up.

"Yes?" Lily pressed in a teasing manner.

"I want you to coach me again," Gajeel blurted out, and Lily let out a loud boastful laughter. "Yeah, yeah just laugh it up." He rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance. "So?" he pressed.

"Can I get a 'please' or something?" Lily tried with a smile.

Gajeel's nose twitched, and Lily stifled a laugh.

"We start tomorrow, be here at six AM sharp." Lily walked out of the ring and went to pick up his gym bag. "And Gajeel."

His eyes drifted over to Lily before climbing from the ring. "Yes?"

Lily smiled. "Welcome home."

Gajeel laughed lightly and nodded his head. "It's good to be back," he said and started for the door again as he slipped his jacket on. Lily watched as he left and pulled his phone out of his bag and texted Wendy, saying that the old Gajeel was back.


End file.
